Japanese and Korean detectives prepare for soccer thugs

Detectives from Japan and Korea are travelling to England to watch football matches in a bid to prepare themselves for soccer thugs at next year’s World Cup finals, it emerged today.

Although England have yet to qualify for the finals, police from the two countries - who have virtually no experience of football violence - are wasting no time.

Officers from the National Criminal Intelligence Service, who have travelled to Korea to discuss security issues, have discovered their counterparts ‘‘have a steep learning curve’’ to climb.

An NCIS source said: ‘‘Police from Korea and Japan are taking a very keen interest in England and its supporters and have been to a number of matches.

‘‘They have little knowledge of football hooliganism and want to be prepared.’’

The detectives have been to see a number of Premiership matches involving teams including Manchester United, Charlton, Aston Villa and Spurs.

The source added: ‘‘Would-be hooligans here also have no idea exactly how much of a culture difference there is between Europe and said Japan.’’