The Metropolitan Police has confirmed some fans who received football banning orders will be barred for travelling to the Euros. Last season 197 people were given bans in London, a record for a single season according to Scotland Yard.
Police say the majority of these fans will surrender their passports to police before the tournament begins in Germany on Friday (June 14). In April alone the Met applied for 79 football banning orders.
Officers say the bans are in place to ensure matches in London are safe for other supporters attending and to minimise disorder in local communities during matchday. These offences include tragedy chanting – often linked to the Hillsborough, Munich and Heysel disasters – along with racially aggravated offences.
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The Met has also applied for 51 three-year banning orders for fans found with Class A drugs last season. There were also 28 bans for assault and 48 bans for football related offences including throwing missiles onto a pitch, going onto a pitch and using flares.
Chief Inspector Pete Dearden, who leads football policing for the Met, said: “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 tournament for fans travelling from London to watch England hopefully bring football home. Our dedicated football officers have worked tirelessly with clubs across the capital to secure the bans for fans who cause disorder at domestic matches, to stop them doing the same abroad.”
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