Just days before Euro 2004 kicks off in Portugal, German police have begun barring soccer fans with violent records from leaving the country in a bid to avert hooliganism. A spokesperson for ZIS, Germany's central information bureau for sporting events, told Reuters news agency that "the police want to keep as many potentially violent persons away from the venues as possible". It's not the first time police have resorted to draconian measures -- during Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium, German authorities refused several hundred fans permission to leave the country. Known hooligans will be obliged to check in with their local police every day of the championships and will be given special stamps in their passport.