London (Parliament News) – Police confirm a record number of football bans ahead of Euro 2024, with 197 supporters barred from travel. The majority must surrender passports to prevent disorder during the tournament.
Police have confirmed the largest amount of football bans in a single season to prevent hooligans from travelling to Euro 2024. Around 197 supporters obtained orders, the Metropolitan Police stated.
The majority will have to abandon their passports to officers before the beginning of the European Championships on Friday and cannot travel to Germany for the game.
Why are football bans crucial for ensuring safety?
Chief Inspector Pete Dearden stated: “This has been a brilliant effort from the football policing unit to secure the banning orders and prevent serious disorder taking place in our communities on matchday.
“The majority of our officers working on football are fans themselves, we understand the passion but want to make sure matches taking place in the capital are safe spaces for everyone attending.
“We know the Euros is going to be a hugely popular game for fans travelling from London to watch England hopefully bring football home. Our reliable football officers have worked tirelessly with clubs across the capital to ensure the bans for fans who cause disorder at domestic matches, to stop them from doing the same abroad.”
How many supporters across England and Wales are banned?
Across England and Wales, more than 1,600 supporters have been prevented from going to the tournament which operates from June 14 to July 14. Depending on the type of barring order, fans are banned from the vicinity of a stadium or town for domestic matches and must submit their passports for European competitions or international fixtures. In April alone, the Met involved for 79 football banning orders.
Fifty-two were for public order crimes, which included eight for tragedy vocalising and another eight for racially disturbed public order offences. The force applied 51 three-year prohibition orders last season for fans discovered in possession of class-A drugs as part of a zero-tolerance perspective. There were also 28 prohibitions for assault and 48 for football-related offences, including throwing rockets, going onto a pitch and lighting flares.