The key to controlling English soccer fans at the World Cup will be to understand the cultural differences in behavior of fans from different countries and to not put too much pressure on the English fans, an English security expert said Tuesday.

"I think we need to understand the difference between the two cultures. English fans can easily frighten people because they drink a lot, they like to sing, they like to shout and they are very noisy," Sir Brian Hayes, special adviser on security to the English Football Association and former deputy commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, said at a press briefing held at the British Embassy in Tokyo.

"But that doesn't mean that they all wish to cause anybody harm or to cause any damage. The vast majority of them will drink beer, sing their songs and go home to sleep. But many Japanese people would not understand -- that would be pity."

The Japanese World Cup organizers and people living around the 10 Japanese venues have long worried and wondered how they should control soccer hooligans since well before the draw was announced. Last Saturday, England was drawn to play in Saitama on June 2 (against Sweden), Sapporo on June 7 (Argentina) and Osaka on June 12 (Nigeria) in the first-round fixtures of Group F.

"I've been trying to explain to everybody that all English football fans are not hooligans," Hayes said, after having talks with officials from JAWOC and the Japanese National Police Agency in Tokyo.

Hayes expressed confidence in preventing English hooligans and trouble-makers from traveling and purchasing tickets thanks to new British passport control laws and the members-only ticket sales system implemented by the English Football Association. The Japanese government's strong immigration control will also be a help, he noted.

Some 800 fans have already been banned from traveling and 250 fans have been banned from purchasing match tickets by the English F.A.

Hayes estimated a total of about 1,000 English fans will not be able to travel to Japan/Korea for the World Cup next year but as many as 10,000 fans would visit Japan from England.

Hayes revealed that some of the so-called "English spotters" will be sent to work with the Japanese police to spot bad English fans among the general fans next year. Exactly how many "spotters" will be sent will be decided after negotiations with the Japanese National Police Agency but the "spotters" are reported to be very good and there will be "very little chance" that they will miss spotting trouble-makers if they present themselves. The Japanese police will also be informed by the English police about the movement of the English fans.

"It is also very important how the Japanese police treat the English fans," Hayes pointed out. "The Japanese police have agreed that they will use similar tactics to the ones we use in England, which is to treat our fans very carefully, not push them around, and to allow them to move about freely as long as they do not break the law."

Hayes advised that language guidance -- for example, English sign boards in town and around stadiums -- and good transport systems between stadiums and city centers will be vital factors in the effort to avoid possible public disorder. He also suggested that having restrictions on alcohol sales in a certain area around the stadium may help.

Hayes said he will visit England's World Cup venues, Saitama, Sapporo and Osaka, in January with English F.A. officials.