Jail warning for soccer thugs

England soccer thugs who are jailed for violence in Portugal were today warned they will not escape serving their sentences if they are sent back to the UK.

The warning came after Garry Mann, branded a hooligan ringleader by a Portuguese judge, evaded a two-year prison term because he was returned home too soon.

Mann was convicted in a Portuguese court earlier this week but was immediately expelled instead of being returned to custody for an official prisoner transfer.

Under the Council of Europe’s convention on transfer of sentenced prisoners, British citizens receiving jail terms in an EU country have to be detained and then apply for repatriation if they are to serve their term back home.

But any Britons caught up in future clashes during Euro 2004 can expect exactly that.

The British authorities are now in discussions with their Portuguese counterparts to ensure cases like Mann’s do not happen again, a Home Office spokeswoman said.

She added: “We want to get the message across that anyone given a custodial sentence in Portugal can expect to serve that sentence when they return to the UK.

“We are in discussions with the Portuguese to make sure that happens.”

Mann was among 11 other England fans accused of rioting who flew into London’s Heathrow airport late last night after being deported.

The 46-year-old firefighter from Faversham, Kent was served with the jail sentence after a fast-track court hearing in Albufeira on Wednesday night.

He was identified by the judge as a ringleader in the rioting which involved around 200 fans on Monday.

As he arrived back in the UK, Home Office officials said he would not serve his prison sentence here as there was no legislative framework to support it.

However the spokeswoman said today: “There is a difference between one case and the fact the Portuguese authorities and the UK are working well together and have been in planning for two years.

“This is one incident in a very successful collaboration. We are in discussions to make sure it does not happen again.

“If he had been put into prison he would have been transferred home and served his sentence. There are provisions in place.”

A further 33 English fans agreed to be deported on Thursday after being arrested during a second night of disturbances in Albufeira during the early hours of Wednesday.

And yesterday a further three agreed to be expelled after being arrested on the Algarve.

Mann is the only one so far to have received a prison sentence.

Last night at least six people were arrested in the town as violence sparked once again, albeit on a much smaller scale than earlier in the week.

Drunken fans threw bottles at officers and riot police with mounted colleagues moved into the main strip of bars at 1.30am to deal with the situation.