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EURO 2024

Beer cap imposed for England-Serbia clash at Euro 2024 in Germany

Supporters of England and Serbia attending the teams' opening game of Euro 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, will only be able to purchase reduced-strength beer, police said Friday.

England fan in Germany
An England fan holds a flag at the women's World Cup in Sydney, Australia. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire | Isabel Infantes

A 2.5-percent “light beer” would be served in the stadium, with fans limited to two drinks at a time, a spokeswoman for police in the German city told AFP.

The decision for Sunday’s match had been taken for “security reasons”, the spokeswoman said.

The choice to sell lower strength beer, instead of pints with the usual volume of between four and five percent, was also made because “the British are used to it”, she said.

READ ALSO: How you can watch the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany

German authorities have been preparing to deal with potential hooligans at the tournament.

Organisers have invited officials from all the countries playing at the tournament to help monitor the situation in and around the grounds.

The British government has said that more than 1,600 English and Welsh supporters who are hit with stadium bans because of previous violent behaviour will be prohibited from travelling to Germany during the tournament.

England fans infamously clashed with supporters from Russia ahead of their match in Marseille, France, at Euro 2016, which saw running battles between hooligans.

READ ALSO: The 10 German stadiums hosting Euro 2024 matches and how to get to them

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EURO 2024

Where to watch the Euro 2024 games in Germany this weekend

Euro 2024 is in full swing with three games on Friday and five more at the weekend. Here's how you can watch them in Germany.

Where to watch the Euro 2024 games in Germany this weekend

Three matches are scheduled for Friday, including: Slovakia vs. Ukraine took place at 3 pm, Poland vs. Austria starts at 6 pm and Netherlands vs. France is scheduled to to kick off at 9 pm in Leipzig despite the bad weather.

Three matches are set for Saturday the 22nd as well: Georgia vs. Czechia at 3 pm in Hamburg, Turkey vs. Portugal at 6 pm in Dortmund and Belgium vs. Romania at 9 pm in Cologne.

Finally on Sunday the 23rd there will be two games on simultaneously. Scotland will take on Hungary in Stuttgart, kicking off at 9 pm. But most of the attention in Germany will be focused on Die Mannschaft (the German team) who will battle against Switzerland in Frankfurt at the same time.

How to watch the games

If you want to watch any of the games at home in Germany, you can stream games with one of the four licensed broadcasters.

Tournament matches are broadcast by Telekom Deutschland (Magenta TV), ARD, RTL Germany, and ZDF.  Of these, the ARD, ZDF and RTL channels all stream the games live for free.

Turkey fans celebrate

Fans of the Turkish national soccer team celebrate a victory at Breitscheidplatz. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

Friday’s evening games are both able to be streamed freely on ARD. 

On Saturday Georgia vs. Czechia will stream on RTL, and both Turkey vs. Portugal and Belgium vs. Romania will stream on ZDF.

On Sunday, Germany vs. Switzerland will be hosted on ARD.

Unfortunately, for Scottland and Hungary fans, that match will only be available via Magenta. So you’ll need to have a paid subscription or find another way to watch the game.

READ ALSO: How you can watch the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany

For those in, or near, the cities where matches are taking place, you can take part in the revelry by heading to one of the official fan zones to watch the game.

But note that some fan zones, such as those in Leipzig, are closed on Friday as a precaution due to severe weather. Weather conditions are expected to improve in much of Germany on Saturday.

Outside of the arenas and the fan zones, loads of bars, restaurants, and even corner shops are all taking part in the Euro 2024 frenzy by playing games inside and on patios to attract customers. So it’s worth taking a walk around your neighbourhood, if you want to take in some of the comradery that makes football one of Germany’s favourite pastimes.

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