UEFA are hoping the sickening scenes that saw Rangers fans attacked by riot police in Spain last season will never be repeated.

The governing body has joined forces with associations and police across Europe in a bid to improve security at matches.

The initiative follows crowd trouble last season at Euro ties involving British clubs.

Gers supporters were set upon by baton-wielding riot police in their Uefa Cup match against Osasuna in Pamplona in March.

Osasuna were fined £31,000 as investigators warned there could have been a "disaster".

Uefa feel countries which do not have a drinking culture are ill-equipped to deal with the British.

And communications director William Gaillard revealed they plan in the future to copy British security measures. That involves reducing the number of riot police inside stadiums and increasing the number of stewards and safety officers.

Gaillard said: "We had a number of really regrettable incidents last season with Spurs fans in Seville, Manchester fans in Rome and Rangers fans in Pamplona.

"The last thing we want to see is fans being clubbed by riot police. We don't want to see that happening at any game again.

"Our objective is to make stadiums safe and secure for everyone. How do we do that? Well, we do that by having better policing, better fans' behaviour and better stadiums.

"We're not targeting a particular set of fans. What we are saying is that current police standards vary very widely country to country.

"It is a question of culture, or miscomprehension of fans' behaviour. The only way we can improve things and achieve our aim is by doing it together.

"In many countries in Europe fan violence stems from political extremism or racist groups, not from drinking.

"These people are intent on confrontation. Patterns of behaviour of British fans abroad cause problems that are totally different from the problems caused by foreign fans.

"Drinking is often absent in southern Europe, where police forces are just not used to fans drinking a bit too much."

He added: "At the moment, stewarding is more developed in the UK than, say, the south and south east regions of Europe. What works beautifully in most British stadia is that the stewards are always stewarding the same area of the stadium. That makes things a lot easier."

Gaillard also feels British fans can play their part by restricting their alcohol consumption.

He continued: "It is often a question of both sides understanding where the other is coming from. Having hundreds of drunken foreign fans in a street in your city isn't a very pretty sight for the locals, either.

"Very often we have an alcohol ban two miles around stadiums. But in countries where alcohol is sold freely in supermarkets you can't change the local tradition.

"Again, this is the whole cultural difference. Nobody is going to change the culture.

"We have to make sure fans realise they are more vulnerable if they have been drinking and it is in their own self-interest not to lose control."