Soccer thugs are a disgrace: to the sport they purport to follow, to their country and to the cities from which they come. Although no country is free of ugly louts who follow "the beautiful game" and use it as an excuse to create mayhem, English soccer thugs have a particularly bad reputation overseas.

They are a feared and hated minority wherever they go, casting a shadow over the vast majority of English soccer fans who are law-abiding, well-behaved and want nothing more than to cheer their team on to victory. They also drag down this country's reputation so that holidaymakers travelling abroad can find themselves regarded with suspicion and even contempt.

The nationwide police operation to make sure that known English hooligans don't make the trip to Portugal for this summer's Euro 2004 tournament is one which deserves the strongest public support.

Bradford unfortunately doesn't have a good record when it comes to soccer thuggery. Four years ago 31 Bradford people were deported from Belgium after violent behaviour during the last European Championships. And police have identified 20 people in the district, 18 of them so-called Bradford City 'fans', who are subject to banning orders imposed by magistrates because of soccer-related violence.

It is important that none of these are allowed to defy the rules about surrendering passports and manage to slip out of the country and into Portugal this summer. The police are appealing to genuine fans to let the authorities know if they find themselves travelling with any of these people. It is important that they do, for soccer's sake and to prevent the English image from being tarnished again.