Belgian workers strike in sympathy with Liege fan

BRUSSELS - Hundreds of Belgian steel workers have gone on strike to protest against management's treatment of one of the men at the plant who is a fanatical supporter of Standard Liege, a trade union official said on Thursday.

The 24-hour walk-out by 400 workers at the Cockerill Maintenance Ingenierie (CMI) happened after the worker refused to take down a banner reading "Standard Liege champions!" from the store which he is in charge of, the spokesman for FGTB-metal told AFP.

Standard have been league champions in Belgium for the past two years.

The worker was ordered to remove the banner which was considered "distracting," and was threatened with severe sanctions including a fine. "It's a disproportionate and heavy-handed action relating to a minor incident," union official Fabrice Jacquemart said.

There has been tension between management and the workforce for several weeks at the plant in the outskirts of Liege, Jacquemart added.