British quiz Anderlecht clampdown on Liverpool fans

Belgian policemen arrest Liverpool supporters near Anderlecht's Constant Vanden Stock stadium before their Champions League match on Wednesday. British interior ministry officials have asked Belgian police to explain why they imposed a five-mile exclusion zone around Anderlecht's stadium which led to 74 Liverpool fans being detained.

British interior ministry officials have asked Belgian police to explain why they imposed a five-mile exclusion zone around Anderlecht's Constant Vanden Stock Stadium which led to 74 Liverpool fans being detained before their Champions League match on Wednesday.

Chelsea play Anderlecht in Brussels on November 23, prompting worries of heavy-handed policing that might provoke a reaction from Chelsea fans.

The Liverpool supporters were all later released but the Football Intelligence Unit which monitors hooligan activity has called for less heavy-handed policing.

"We are seeking advice from the Belgian authorities with regard to the rationale behind the exclusion zone," the Home Office said in a statement. "We are interested to know the legal basis behind the tactics deployed."

Police in the Anderlecht district of Brussels said that laws introduced for the European Championship in 2000, which Belgium co-hosted, had been invoked in the arrest of the Liverpool fans.

"The football law, which has been in application for some time, dictates that a supporter who is not in possession of a valid ticket is committing an offence to be in the vicinity of the ground," said a spokesman.

And the Belgian authorities said they had no plans to relax their policing policy for Chelsea's visit.

"The football law is in place for all matches," added the spokesman for Brussels police.

There is a history of zero-tolerance policing towards English fans in Belgium. During the 2000 European Championship clashes between England fans, German and Turkish supporters and police in Brussels and Charleroi led to 584 Britons being arrested.

At the time Brussels' assistant commissioner of police Christian de Coninck described Belgian authorities as having been "too soft" on hooligans.

But Wednesday's clampdown has worried Chelsea fans.

"Chelsea supporters are worried that innocent fans will be mixed up in this and be deported," said David Johnstone of the Chelsea fanzine cfcuk.