Top police chief warns fans to ‘be sensible’ in Mexico as they will be ‘massively outnumbered’ in England clash

Top police chief warns fans to ‘be sensible’ in Mexico as they will be ‘massively outnumbered’ in England clash Four fans died in a crush following Mexico’s win against Ecuador earlier in the week - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments The UK’s top football police chief has warned England fans to be careful in Mexico as they will be “massively outnumbered”. England’s World Cup last-16 match against Mexico is set to take place in the early hours of Monday morning and has already led to tensions in Mexico City. More than 100 riot police in bullet-proof vests are guarding the hotel where the England team are staying after they received a hostile reception upon their arrival with crowds booing and jeering. Thousands are expected to descend on the historic Azteca stadium for the clash. “It’s a huge city, a busy city. People are very passionate about football, and sadly we had an incident just across the way where people died in a crush, so people need to be sensible,” chief constable Mark Roberts, the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) lead told ITV News. Four fans died following Mexico’s win against Ecuador earlier in the week. “In the stadiums so far, I think they’ve typically been 80 per cent supporting England… Officially, we think there will be three to four thousand England fans. There’s always more, but it’s not going to be anything like what we’ve seen in the States. We’re going to be massively outnumbered.” He added: “Generally, I think the Mexicans are pretty well disposed towards the UK, which is positive, but people need to be sensible. We all know in a crowd things can happen.” Roberts said that there had been “a lot” of online abuse directed at the England team during the World Cup. ”It's just very, very sad,” he said. “There are investigations ongoing now, and we will absolutely do everything we can to make sure people who are engaged in this are identified. “They won't be anonymous, and hopefully we'll see them going up to the steps of a court embarrassed about the appalling things they've posted online.” Fifa U-turned on a decision to bring the game forward due to weather concerns and announced it would go ahead as originally planned on Monday at 1am BST. Pubs across Britain were granted special permission to extend their opening hours until 5am for the fixture and schools around the country said they will allow pupils to start late on Monday so that they can watch the match. The move has sparked criticism among police leaders and emergency services who expressed concern about the strain on resources and an anticipated increase in violent incidents. “The combination of extended drinking hours and very warm weather has the potential to create additional pressures on NHS emergency services through alcohol-related incidents, injuries, dehydration and other avoidable health issues,” said Anna Parry, managing director of the association of ambulance of chief executives. “Ambulance services are prepared and will be monitoring demand closely, but we would ask people to celebrate responsibly, look after friends and family, stay hydrated, and only use 999 in a genuine emergency.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments