England fan, 65, suffers head injuries in Bologna bar brawl ahead of San Marino World Cup qualifier Police arrest Brit Matthew Mabey, 21, who is being questioned by detectives Happened at pub in Bologna where fans drank ahead of journey to Rimini Fight erupted between 7 Brits as victim punched and hits head on pavement By Nick Pisa A 65-year-old man was in a serious condition in hospital tonight after a brawl between England fans ahead of the World Cup qualifier against San Marino. The pensioner, who has not been named, suffered a severe injury after he was punched in the face and then fell to the ground striking his head heavily on the pavement. Police called to the scene arrested fellow Briton Matthew Mabey, 21, and he was tonight being held in prison in connection with the incident and accused of serious wounding. Violence: The incident happened late on Thursday night outside the Bounty pub in Bologna (pictured) where dozens of England fans had gathered ahead of the journey to nearby Rimini for the World Cup match The incident happened late on Thursday night outside the Bounty pub in Bologna where dozens of England fans had gathered ahead of the journey to San Marino for the World Cup match. Violence erupted between a group of seven Britons who were drinking in the pub and witnesses told police that the 65 year old victim picked up a bar stool to defend himself as he was surrounded and then punched to the ground. Not quite Wembley: England will face San Marino tonight at the 7,000-capacity Stadio Olimpico in the Serraville district of the tiny state Paramedics were quickly on the scene and he was rushed to the nearby Maggiore Hospital in Bologna where he underwent emergency surgery on his head injury and he was then put into an induced coma, doctors described his condition as 'very serious.' England will face San Marino tonight at the 7,000-capacity Stadio Olimpico in the Serraville district of the tiny state. Roy Hodgson's team (pictured, right, training today) sit at the top of Group H, but sit two points behind leaders Montenegro after winning two and drawing two of their first four matches. Having beaten San Marino 5-0 at Wembley last October, England are expected to take all three points in the clash. But they will be without striker Theo Walcott, who misses the game after suffering a groin strain. Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck are expected to start upfront for the Three Lions, with Tottenham's Jermain Defoe and Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool on the bench. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will compete for a central role with the likes of James Milner, Michael Carrick and Scott Parker around them. Having seen Rio Ferdinand withdraw due to fitness concerns, Manchester City's Joleon Lescott and Chelsea's Gary Cahill are likely to start in central defence ahead of United's Chris Smalling and Spurs' Steven Caulker. Watch the game live on ITV tonight from 7.30pm. draw for A police spokeswoman in Bologna said: 'We were called by staff at the pub and by passers by to a fight that had broken out between a group of England fans who had been drinking heavily. From what witnesses have told us a group of men surrounded the victim and as they attacked him he picked up a bar stool to defend himself but was then punched once in the face and fell to the ground hitting his head on the pavement. He suffered serious injuries and is now in hospital. The men involved then ran off but we managed to round them up and one 21 year old was held and is now in prison another 48 year old man was also held but he was later released. Police were unable to say where Mabey was from but in an entry matching his date of birth of Netlog, an online dating website he described himself as 'FittMatt' adding that he was 'single and interested in girls.' An employee at the bar said:'They had been in the bar drinking all day then all of a sudden all hell broke loose and there was shouting and fighting amongst themselves. The next minute one man was on the floor - he looked in a bad way and then the ambulance and police arrived. British Embassy officials in Rome have been notified about the incident but no-one was immediately available for comment. In another incident in Rimini an England fan was held by police after he entered a bar drunk and started to throw sandwiches at other customers, when he was asked to stop he fell against a window and hit his head but he was not seriously injured. Extra police have been drafted in for the match and around 2,500 England fans were expected to attend the game - outnumbering San marino fans, while others were delayed or had to abandon travel plans because of the appalling weather conditions back home.