BTHE criminal intelligence unit orchestrating the fight against football thuggery at the European Championships yesterday confirmed, for the first time, a major potential for trouble arising from the Scotland-England match at Wembley.
Football hooligans from both sides of the Border are known to have been preparing for some time for the tie and have selected the clash with the Auld Enemy to settle old scores.
However, the good news for the majority of law-abiding fans is that any fighting is unlikely to take place at Wembley or the traditional meeting place of Scots fans - Trafalgar Square.
Ms Sue Daniels, of the National Criminal Intelligence Service which co-ordinates action against football hooligans, said: ``We are aware that this match is one that has the potential for problems.''
Policing football hooliganism has now reached such a level of sophistication in Britain that major trouble is not expected at Wembley, despite the fact that the official Euro96 segregation policy appears to be in tatters.
However, football hooliganism has adapted to the challenge and it is accepted that those bent on fighting now routinely avoid heavily-policed areas, preferring instead to organise trouble, often by mobile phone, well away from football grounds.
Ms Daniels said the majority of Scots are expected to arrive in London on Friday. She also confirmed the service was looking at the activities of a tiny minority of Scots fans who could cause trouble - football casuals who align themselves with Hibernian FC.
Meanwhile, the BBC expects the biggest audience viewing figure of all time for a football match when the teams meet, topping the 16,700,000 who watched the 1990 World Cup semi-final between England and West Germany.
Meanwhile, Fish, the former singer with Marillion, has been invited by Euro96 to sing Flower of Scotland in front of the 10,000 Scottish fans expected at Wembley.
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