Nazi salute yobs given bans for life
FA think fans are treating away trips like a stag do
THE FA have imposed life bans on England supporters for the first time amid concerns that a new generation of young men is responsible for some of the worst behaviour in world football.
As anxiety over Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow escalates, FA security chiefs have identified a group aged predominantly between 18 and 25 who they believe treat away matches like a stag weekend.
Unprecedented life bans have been issued to two members of the England Supporters Club (ESC) who travelled together to the friendly against Germany in March. One of the men was caught on police footage taunting German supporters in Dortmund with Nazi salutes and the other made Hitler- moustache and throat-cutting gestures.
An FA report highlighted the concerns about young male fans singing tedious anti-German and anti-IRA chants. Throwing beer over other fans is also now popular inside and outside stadiums.
With the assistance of the UK football policing unit as well as the German authorities, the FA were able to identify 59 offenders in Dortmund, with a further 20 identified as members of the supporters club. Of those 20, the FA have suspended 16 with the remaining four receiving warnings, one of which is pending. A further nine members have been suspended for rule breaches ranging from being rude to staff to ticket scams.
While the FA recognise it will be nigh on impossible to stop supporters with banning orders and suspensions travelling to Glasgow on Saturday because they do not need passports, the game will see new measures in place.
A team of stewards will assist FA security staff and the police in identifying offenders, as well as helping the well-behaved majority of England fans at the turnstile and stadium areas. Two stewards will attend the game at Hampden Park, with a training programme then planned at Wembley for a team that could be six-strong for the game in Malta in September.
Not all those misbehaving in the segregated England section in Dortmund were ESC members because German stewards did not properly control access to that area. As a result, England fans with tickets to other parts of the stadium were able to join the ESC members.
ESC membership has dropped to an all-time low of 8,000, compared to 57,000 at its height when the new Wembley opened. The FA believe this is a response to poor England performances at major tournaments as well as the location of qualifying matches and future tournaments.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia is seen as too expensive for many fans. But membership stood at 15,000 going into Euro 2016, with the numbers dropping dramatically in the wake of the embarrassing defeat against Iceland.
The FA are doing what they can to monitor the behaviour of their members thanks to legislation that gives them access to Home Office data on criminal convictions. Since 2014 there have been 22,000 supporter checks, with 142 banned for varying periods and a further 239 warnings issued after being reviewed by lawyers who sit on a panel for the ESC.
And although membership lasts for a two-year tournament cycle, checks on criminal convictions for each member are made every six to nine months.