England soccer fan stabbed to death

Lisbon:

A 27-year-old England soccer fan died today after being stabbed by a Ukrainian pickpocket in central Lisbon after England beat Croatia in the Euro 2004 football championship. The attacker was originally identified by Portugal's Lusa news agency as a Croatian fan but a police spokesman later said that he was Ukrainian. "It has nothing to do with the Euro, as far as we know it was a criminal act. (The attacker) is a suspected pickpocket," national security police official Hipolito Cunha said. The attack took place after England beat Croatia 4-2 in Lisbon to win a place in the quarter finals of the European Championships in Portugal. Police said the Briton had been stabbed in the heart and died of his injuries after being taken to hospital in the Portuguese capital. Suspect arrested The suspected attacker was arrested, a spokeswoman for Lisbon police, Isabelle Canelas, said. England supporters clashed last week with riot police in the Algarve coastal resort of Albufeira and dozens British nationals have been deported by the Portuguese authorities. However officials from European soccer's governing body UEFA have said the violence has been fuelled by over-consumption of alcohol and does not appear to be organised. The trouble has not approached the levels at the last European championships four years ago when England fans caused widespread damage in riots in Belgium. In more violence linked to the championships, four Austrian policemen were injured when they clashed with a large crowd of about 500 rioting Croatia fans in Vienna, the APA news agency said in Austria. The unrest broke out in a western neighbourhood of the city after Croatia were eliminated from the Euro 2004 championship after their defeat by England. Two people were arrested, APA said. (PTI)