Dutch move border posts to support Red Devils

Scots, Danes and the Dutch face a quandary: whether to ignore the championships or back somebody else.

An astute businessman in the Netherlands has come up with a novel answer. 32-year-old Coen Smits is a pub landlord in the southern Dutch town of Maastricht. Disappointed the Dutch eleven didn't make the Euro 2016 he came out as a fan of the Red Devils, the Belgian national squad, and with true mercantile spirit decided to redraw the Belgian-Dutch border to allow his public house, De Pepel, to fall on the right, Belgian side of the border.

Punters assisted Coen to move the official posts designating the border a full 300 metres deep into Dutch territory to allow customers to cheer on Belgium's finest amid the customary sports pub trappings.

During Red Devil matches the Dutch publican will serve Belgian beers and Belgian fries. Coen told the daily Het Laatste Nieuws that he hoped both Dutch and Belgian punters would frequent his bar during matches: "There is some rivalry between the two nations, but a number of Dutch punters have now become Red Devil supporters!"

After the championships the border will be restored and Coen and his punters will return to the Netherlands "proud in the knowledge to have served Belgium".