Austrian policemen began an intense training programme this week to get them up to scratch in the art of neutralising marauding hooligans. 2000 officers are taking part in the course, which will run all the way up to the advent of Euro 2008 next June.
Early sessions have seen policeman come under attack from hails of tennis balls - a stand in for stones - and they've also been experimenting with authentic firebombs, a popular weapon amongst enthusiastic hooligans.
Austria is co-hosting the Euro 2008 Cup with Switzerland, and the final will take place at Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on June 29th. Besides a medley of games in the capital, Austria will also be hosting matches at Innsbruck, Klagenfurt and Salzburg. Will it be the sound of merry music that echoes around Austria or that of gnashing teeth, police sirens and molotov cocktails? Let's not get hysterical yet - Portugal's experience in 2004 has cited as one of the most successful in modern times.
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