Authorities are eyeing the start of the English football season this weekend with trepidation following riots that have rocked towns and cities across the country. Dozens of teams from the English Football League – below the highly regarded Premier League – begin playing their first games from Saturday afternoon, including in cities that have suffered disorder. The unrest followed a knife attack that killed three children. But authorities have blamed far-right elements – some with links to the decades-old English football hooligan scene – for orchestrating the violence that saw mosques and sites linked to immigration torched and police targeted.
Tommy Robinson, a notorious anti-Muslim agitator with a string of criminal convictions, including for football-related offences, was accused of helping to fuel the unrest through constant social media posts about the events.
Crowds at some meetings were heard chanting his name – which is actually a pseudonym borrowed from an infamous Luton Town Football Club hooligan in the 2000s.
The prospect of thousands of people gathering on Saturday for games in towns and cities such as Middlesbrough, Hull and London has raised concerns that riots could flare up again after two nights of relative calm.
More than 80,000 fans are also expected at Wembley on Saturday when Manchester City and Manchester United play in the FA Community Shield.
‘Stain’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, an avid football fan, admitted on Friday that the start of the new season had “added to the mix” of challenges facing police.
“Whatever the challenge, we have to face it,” he insisted to UK broadcasters.
The UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) said forces across the country are collaborating to ensure “all relevant information” is shared ahead of football matches.
A UKFPU spokesperson said it was being updated on arrests during the recent riots and the possibility of banning these people from football stadiums.
Courts issue football banning orders following a football-related criminal conviction or following a request from the police to prevent individuals from attending games and, in some cases, even nearby venues.
In recent years, they have been expanded to cover convictions for online hate crimes linked to sport and convictions for the sale or use of class A drugs.
Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, who heads the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) which oversees the UKFPU, appealed to people not to “stain football with the violence we have seen”.
“Football brings communities together,” he said at a press conference.
“Yes, some of these violent thugs are linked to the suburbs, but not everywhere, not in all clubs, and certainly not in all of football.”
‘Crossroads’
Mark Doidge, an academic at Loughborough University who has researched football fan cultures in the UK and Europe, said English football normally requires “a huge police operation” but officers now have experience.
He played down any overlap between the recent disorder and fans of the so-called beautiful game, and the notion that English football was being used to recruit people to the far right.
“Although there are crossovers between demographics – some fans are also far-right – not all fans are far-right, and not all far-right fans are fans or watch games,” he told AFP.
“There does not appear to be any coordinated football activity and no protests have been planned in stadiums.”
Doidge noted that some fans may spontaneously yell or protest about recent events, which can be divisive with other fans and provide an unpredictable element for police.
“If the confrontation comes from fans of the same team, then that may be something they are not prepared for,” he added.
Meanwhile, some football clubs in cities that have suffered recent riots have spoken out against the problems.
“We completely condemn the violent and racist scenes we saw on the streets of Middlesbrough,” Steve Gibson, chairman of the club in the north-east English city, said in a joint statement with the local MP and mayor this week.
“We at Middlesbrough have a proud and inclusive history. Over the centuries, our city and our football club have welcomed people from all over the world.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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