An account giving an overview of the treatment of football fans - including within the criminal justice system
Joined February 2009
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1/2 The UK has ratified the Saint-Denis Convention. Articles 8 & 9 require encouragement of regular dialogue and police partnership with supporters. Telling fans what has already been decided cannot, by itself, fulfil that approach.
rm.coe.int/1680666d0b
@RedAndWhite2017
Northumbria Police have agreed that we share this correspondence with the Sunderland & Newcastle fanbases. @SunderlandAFC @nufctrust @NUFC @BlcSafc @WiseMenSayPod @ALS_Fanzine @RokerReport
redandwhitearmy.co.uk/post/n…
2/2 Its guidance explicitly recommends consulting supporters when preparing an event’s safety and security strategy (Annex C, Appendix 1). Fans should have a meaningful opportunity to contribute before decisions are finalised.
rm.coe.int/annex-c/1680a45e7…
@RedAndWhite2017 @nufctrust
“The Premier League and relevant football stakeholders are aware of and supportive of the deployment."
And yet the fans, by far the largest group of “relevant football stakeholders”, have this imposed on them regardless of whether or not they’re supportive.
The CST has received the below communication from the Met Police ahead of this weekend's match with Tottenham and have been authorised to publish:
"I am writing to inform you that on Saturday 24 October 2026, Live Facial Recognition (LFR) will be deployed during the policing operation for the Chelsea FC v Tottenham Hotspur FC football fixture, which has been assessed as a high-risk match. The deployment follows the established stakeholder engagement approach previously used for football-related LFR deployments.
The two deployment locations will be:
Earl's Court West Brompton
Two LFR vans will be deployed across these locations during the pre-match phase of the operation.
Signage will be deployed outside the zone of recognition in line with MPS LFR policy. We can provide a debrief of the deployment within 72 hours should you require.
The deployment will operate during the designated pre-match period. The watchlist will contain individuals subject to Football Banning Orders relating to either club, together with persons wanted or missing for serious offences and those sought on warrants issued by HMCTS. This reflects the watchlist criteria outlined in the previous stakeholder communication.
The Premier League and relevant football stakeholders are aware of and supportive of the deployment."
A reminder that the same set of fans successfully campaigned to have these draconian restrictions lifted over 12 years ago and I hope they do the same again.
I’m sure their campaign will be supported by those who get very vociferous when protestors are hit with restrictions…
Please find a statement below.
NUST strongly opposes the decision to impose mandatory coach travel on Sunderland supporters attending the Tyne-Wear derby at St. James' Park on 6 December 2026. #NUFC
RT @MelissaReddy_: “When you work at horse racing or cricket or a concert, those are seen as policing an event. Football is seen as policin…
Match Goer retweeted
It should also be pointed out, that UK Football Policing conveniently ignore this from the final Taylor report. When talking about alcohol bans, he says:
“I hope, in halcyon days ahead, a better atmosphere at football grounds may justify bans being relaxed."
Having been hit on the back of the head with a full pint glass at a Paul Weller gig a few years ago (at the intro to a Town called Malice), I still think looking to overturn this outdated legislation - which won't automatically mean all fans can drink in view - is a great idea.
Match Goer retweeted
The problem with football's alcohol ban isn't 'discrimination', it's that it is ineffective at reducing alcohol related disorder and that it more likely increases, rather than reduces, risks to public safety. The law needs changing, not just taking about.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c933…
I'm missing the point? It doesn't have to be against the law to not have drinking in the stands, therefore criminilising those who fall foul of it. It can be part of the safety cert, the alcohol licence, gnd regs and ticket T&Cs thus still not being allowed unless agreed locally
Match Goer retweeted
Agreed. I see this as a two-part process:
1. Remove the discriminatory ban (another relic of the Thatcher era).
2. Let clubs and their fans decide where/when alcohol can be drunk in their ground/stands.
Prime Minister, the actual PM, not a fan rep: “Let’s look at the legislation (which criminalises fans) with a view to making football equal to other events/sports”.
Fans en masse "Ooo, no thanks, somebody might throw beer on me”.
Wow. Never seen a point so spectacularly missed
Match Goer retweeted
This is low, even by the standards of the UK Football policing unit, casually linking the Taylor report post Hillsborough and football tragedies to changes in the law on drinking at matches
Drinking in view of the pitch didn’t cause deaths or injuries - policing failures did
Burnham isn’t saying “you must drink in the stands” or “every part of every stadium must allow fans to knock back 7 pints in the first half”, is he?
Getting rid of the laws will allow clubs to have sensible, mature conversations with fans to explore what might work for them
1. The response to this has been a tad knicker wetting not least, unsurprisingly, from police chiefs who love nothing more than not contributing to discussions with calm rationale and reason, rather hyperbole justifying over policing and over legislating of fans.
3. Get rid of the laws that make drinking on a coach illegal, drinking in view of the pitch illegal and entering a stadium drunk and people attending matches will then be equal to other sports.
Interesting that the narrative is already that the “Dockers Derby” was incident free because of the “officers on the ground” and “partners” and not despite them and the reality being that the overwhelming majority of fans attended without any desire to kick a rivals head in.
Thank you to our officers on the ground, as well as partners at @MillwallFC and @WestHam, who worked to ensure the Dockers Derby took place without significant disruption across south east London – allowing attending fans to enjoy the match safely.
A total of six arrests have taken place as of 16:00hrs on Saturday, 19 September. Offences include tailgating, assault on a police officer, and entering or attempting to enter a stadium while intoxicated. All remain in custody.
As a reminder, a Section 35 dispersal order remains in place until 23:59hrs tonight, allowing officers to remove anyone causing disorder. It will cover the area shown on the map.
Our Live Facial Recognition deployment in London Bridge resulted in three arrests, including one man who was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and possession of a bladed article. None of these were related to football.
With S60 and dispersal orders, covering a large part of central London the Met are sending out a message that a football match is something to be inherently feared.
More tension is being created by police than the few thousand people actually attending the match.
