PATTAYA (Thailand), May 31: Police in Thailand came up empty handed on Friday after a highly publicised sweep for suspected foreign soccer hooligans on their way to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

About 70 officers from Thailand’s tourist police accompanied by dozens of journalists combed bars in Thailand’s notorious seaside resort town of Pattaya, 120 km (60 miles) south of the capital Bangkok, early on Friday, searching for football thugs.

None was to be found and no arrests were made.

Days before the crackdown, Thai police, acting on a tip-off from their British counterparts, announced that some 15 Britons, known for their links to past soccer-related violence, were believed to be in the country.

They said suspects were gathering at a British-owned bar called the Dogs Bollocks in the Pattaya, a town known for its go-go bars and nightlife.

Tourist Police Chief Major General Sanit Miphan, who led the Friday morning raid, said authorities were concerned there may be violence if England loses matches during the World Cup, which kicks off in South Korea’s capital Seoul on Friday.

“On Sunday, there will be a match between England and Sweden. Over here there are English pubs and there are two or three Swedish pubs,” he told his entourage of reporters.

“If England loses, what do you think will happen. They will do something...There will be fighting. We don’t want anything to happen in Pattaya.”

Many bemused tourists greeted Sanit with friendly smiles as he entered several bars and warned patrons to stay out trouble. Others grumbled.—Reuters