Bunce sports correspondent Gilbert Nubble said two fans suffered shrapnel wounds from flying ashtrays and two were injured by stray bar tables in fighting in the Swiss city of Zurich, where many of the fans have been staying before the match.

One of the injured supporters is in intensive care, while the other three have been operated on. Eyewitness reports from the scene have allegedly said it was a 'friendly fire' incident as English hooligans were breaking things and fighting. A lot of windows were smashed by England Fans.

Later however a joint statement by the Swiss and English commanders on the ground said they had apparently been been hit by fragments from an Iraqi 'SCUD' missile, and were still investigating the circumstances of the incident.

Swiss police arrested 25 fans who were on their way to England's Euro 2004 qualifier, after there were clashes between fans and police in and around Zurich city centre bars on Friday evening. The Swiss Police waded in with Batons and Teargas, a spokesman stated " this is just part of our ongoing process to liberate the people of this country and we will press on regardless."

Bottles thrown

Fans were taken to hospital after they were injured and officers attempted to quell the ensuing panic with tear gas and rubber bullets. Allegedly football supporters threw bottles at police as scores of officers attempted to control the crowd.

Alcohol factor downplayed by officials

A command spokesman stated that "in a move that we would say is totally out of character the English have been alleged to be drinking a lot of alcohol, this is clearly false rumour spread by the Ba-ath party in Zurich as fans past behaviour does not support this allegation."

The spokesman said a large number of the arrested had been released, but was unable to confirm or deny whether any had been found in possession of weapons of mass destruction.