A CARNIVAL atmosphere has enveloped the first ten days of the World Cup, with fans from across the globe entering into the party spirit.

Even the English were being praised for their behaviour until today, that is.

Sixteen fans have been arrested and 16 German police were slightly hurt after a skirmish in Cologne.

All the fans were later released with no action against them.

But let us just hold back before we set the usual avalanche of criticism and outrage cascading down onto our fans abroad.

One fan was injured.

But this may well be just one isolated incident and a chance for the German police to flex their muscles and send out a warning that bad behaviour will not be tolerated.

After all, British police have stopped countless numbers of known hooligans from even travelling to Germany for the tournament, either by confiscating their passports or stopping them at the airports and ferry terminals.

The images of previous World Cups and marauding English hooligans turning city centres into battle grounds shamed the nation.

But a skirmish in a Cologne square is a long way from those dark days.

Let's not let one incident spoil what has been a wonderful tournament.

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