Polish thugs attack English-speaking fans and hurl racist abuse at Holland stars as trouble flares at start of Euro 2012
Riots: Ukrainian police, pictured clashing with fans of Dynamo Kiev at a domestic cup final, are braced for trouble during Euro 2012
The captain of the Holland squad claimed that thugs hurled vile insults at his black team-mates as they trained in Krakow.
It comes after pictures emerged of machetes and other knives confiscated from Polish fans by police.
The families of two black England players, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, decided not to travel to the competition because they feared abuse from violent and racist fans.
Trouble has erupted hours before the start of the Euro 2012 football tournament, with local thugs attacking English-speaking fans and hurling racist abuse at star players.
About 50 hooligans punched and kicked foreign football fans speaking English and Russian as they drank in a pub in the central Polish city of Lodz.
The fighting broke out after Dutch players complained they were subjected to monkey chants while training in another Polish city, where the England team is based.
Fears are growing that the tournament, which starts today, could be ruined by neo-Nazi rioters in host countries Poland and Ukraine.
Threatening: Supporters of Karpaty Lviv hold a German Nazi flag during a football match in Ukraine. Fears are growing that the tournament, which starts today, could be ruined by neo-Nazi rioters
Lethal: Weapons confiscated from Polish football hooligans by police
'Some of us remained outside, and they got the brunt of the attack.'
Two men were injured in the attack, which happened last night.
'They forced two younger men to the ground, with multiple attackers starting to punch and kick them,' a Polish witness said.
'It was a horrible sight. I fumbled for my phone and called the police.
'They were lying motionless on the pavement. I thought they were dead.
Racism fears: The families of England players Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, left, and Theo Walcott, right, have decided not to travel to Poland and Ukraine
'After a couple of minutes, one of them started to get up, and then the second. I was very relieved.'
The thugs appeared to target foreigners, and the owner of the pub refused to press charges out of fear for retaliation attacks.
Before the incident, the visitors were reported to be talking and chanting in English and Russian.
The fighting followed a race row involving the Dutch team who, like England and Italy's players are training in Krakow.
Kicking off: Violence and racism are already problems in Poland, where football fans are gathering for the start of Euro 2012
Witnesses said Holland's footballers were racially abused by about 500 fans of Wisla Krakow, whose stadium is being used by national teams for training sessions.
The insults began when the squad went on a two-lap jog around the pitch. The abuse was said to have been even louder on the players' second circuit.
Poland's feared SWAT-style public order police squad are on high alert for rioters and thugs at Euro 2012.
The elite GROM - translated as Lightning Squad - have been rehearsing anti-riot tactics and simulated hostage rescues for weeks before.
Snipers on building roofs and elite officers from Poland's notorious Riot Squad and Anti-Terrorist Unit will back up the GROM officers, who wear all black.
Police are equipped with portable tear gas machines, pump action shotguns with plastic baton rounds.
They have been given handguns with live 9mm rounds, handcuffs, pepper spray, body armour, helmets and shields.
They will also carry special pistols firing red dye capsules so rioters who get away can be identified later.
All the units have carried out terrifying public shows of strength with live training assaults on buses and simulated riots.
The ruthless reputation of the riot police is a hangover from Poland's communist days when they were used to viciously suppress democracy campaigners and described as the 'beating heart of the state'.
Tough: Polish police detain a suspect in Krakow, where the England team is based for the tournament
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