Police patrol German city to disuade English revelers

Beer, expletives and patriotic songs flowed freely — but an evening downpour and victory helped restrain the crowds.

It was a contrast to Saturday, when riot police arrested more than 500 English who hurled bottles and plastic chairs in separate outbursts.

In the free open-air viewing area Sunday, middle-aged couples and families with children — some carrying the German flag — mingled with fans clad in flags or walking around shirtless to bare patriotic tattoos.

“It’s a party. We’re here to have fun,” whooped Kevin Penfold as he swapped his red England shirt for an Ecuadorean one worn by Ana Cecilia Pinos Flores, who struggled to put on her sweat-soaked acquisition.

Nearby, an English fan with his chest hairs dyed ginger and shaved in the shape of a cross grinned benignly in an alcoholic daze as his friends covered him in a flag. Others bellowed songs about downing German bombers in World War II.