The key to controlling English soccer fans at the World Cup will be to understand the cultural differences in behavior of fans from different countries and to not put too much pressure on the English fans, an English security expert said Tuesday.
"I think we need to understand the difference between the two cultures. English fans can easily frighten people because they drink a lot, they like to sing, they like to shout and they are very noisy," Sir Brian Hayes, special adviser on security to the English Football Association and former deputy commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, said at a press briefing held at the British Embassy in Tokyo.
"But that doesn't mean that they all wish to cause anybody harm or to cause any damage. The vast majority of them will drink beer, sing their songs and go home to sleep. But many Japanese people would not understand -- that would be pity."