By Humphrey Carter
A group of 29 members of Calvia Local Police and the force's new canine unit have been undergoing special anti-disturbance training this week in the wake of last Saturday night's incidents following the England-USA match in Magalluf.
Calvia Council had initially decided to take a softly softly approach to the World Cup and wait and see how the fans behaved during the first few games. However, in the wake of England's 1-1 draw, a number of minor scuffles and fights broke out in the centre of the resort and bottles rained down on the crowd causing minor cuts and bruises.
The primary aim of this week's training was to create a crack unit capable of rapidly responding to an incident among crowds of between three and five thousand people.
This week's extra training suggests that security is going to be significantly stepped up during the rest of the World Cup, in particular during the England games as has been the practice during previous World and European football cups. Sources in Magalluf said yesterday that more and more British tourists, including England fans, have been arriving in the resort on holiday and policing is expected to be extra tight this Friday night when England play Algeria.
Members of the crack Guardia Civil anti-disturbance brigade have also been helping to bolster public safety during high risk matches.
Fortunately last Saturday there were no serious incidents nor injuries but the police are now leaving nothing to chance.