FA fights to lose England fan ‘hooligan’ tag

Tony Conniford fears England fans are regaining a reputation as hooligans after recent bouts of criminal and anti-social behaviour abroad

The FA is calling on England fans to police themselves and to report any troublemakers to help prevent supporters regaining a reputation as hooligans.

The new campaign is called “Report that Idiot”, and is an extension of the FA’s “Don’t be that Idiot”, introduced for the first time in the Nations League in June.

It comes as Tony Conniford, head of FA security, says he fears England fans are regaining a reputation as hooligans, after recent bouts of criminal and anti-social behaviour abroad. As a result he says all supporters can expect more heavy-handed treatment at the hands of foreign riot police.

“There is a real risk that we will start to be policed, not on the behaviour [of the fans] as we have for the past few years, and instead go back to the days where England fans are policed on their reputation,” Conniford said.

“That concerns me. That is what we are continually striving to avoid. The behaviour we have had recently is a change from what we’ve seen in the past.”

The UK authorities are pushing for 10 individuals to receive football banning orders after the trouble in Portugal during the Nations League earlier in the summer, however, so far none of the people involved in the violence have been prosecuted.

Gareth Southgate said he was was “embarrassed” by the behaviour of fans in June

The scenes in Porto in June led to Gareth Southgate saying he was “embarrassed” by the behaviour, and insisted the England team have no association with those involved.

Now, the FA and British police have real concerns there will be similar scenes in Prague for Friday’s European Qualifier with Czech Republic.

Deputy chief constable Mark Roberts, England’s lead officer for football policing, wrote to UEFA when the fixture was first confirmed, asking for it to be moved away from a ‪Friday night, in a city known for a stag-do culture. “There are lots of games, they could have rescheduled it,” he says.

“If it was in the UK and we had real concerns about the scheduling of a game, we could change it via the Safety Advisory Group, regardless of UEFA. We don’t have the same power for away games.”

The FA and UK police are united in their belief that, if the trouble continues with England abroad, host cities and UEFA will push for a smaller allocation of tickets for England away fans. In short – fewer fans, less trouble.

There is a €200 fixed penalty fine in Prague for anyone being drunk in the street, and it’s yet to be seen how the local authorities will enforce that law when the 3,731 England fans with tickets for ‪Friday night’s game are in town.

DCC Roberts says it is becoming increasingly common for well-behaved fans to face heavy-handedness from local police officers, because of the poor behaviour of others who have travelled.

“The majority of England fans are great people,” he said. “They go, they behave, they enjoy themselves, they enjoy the cities. It’s those fans we are calling on to help us, by identifying the trouble-makers.”

Anyone witnessing anti-social behaviour before, during or after matches, can report it by emailing englandsupportersclub@thefa.com or by calling or texting +447970146250. These contact details are also printed on the back of England Supporters Travel Club membership cards.

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