England and Wales fans praised for 'exemplary behaviour' after making it through World Cup with no arrests
The head of the UK Football Policing Unit said it was the first time ever zero arrests had been made of England fans at a World Cup.
World Cup fans from the United Kingdom have been praised after police confirmed not a single Brit was arrested at the tournament.
Both England and Wales were heralded for ‘exemplary’ behaviour in Qatar, where no British nationals had been arrested for the first time ever.
Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who is also the head of the UK Football Policing Unit, gave his report on the behaviour in Qatar.
With 3,000 fans from each home nation at each of the three group games, with an additional 3,500 at England’s knockout stage games the results were commended.
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Mr Roberts believes the strict laws on alcohol sales in Qatar, which saw beer at venues outlawed just days before the tournament, contributed to the zero arrests.
He said, via the Mirror: “The behaviour of England and Wales out in Qatar was absolutely exemplary.
“Throughout the home nation's involvement in the tournament there were no arrests or incidents to report, which is a credit to all those who travelled.
"In Russia 2018 there were three arrests. But obviously having two teams in this tournament we played double the group stage games, including a home nations derby, which underlines the good nature of our fans.
"I would also like to praise all the UK officers who travelled out to Qatar for the work they have done in helping to keep British nationals safe during the past four weeks.
"The atmosphere at all the home nations' games was passionate but friendly, and it would be fantastic to see this replicated at matches back home throughout the rest of the season.”
He added: “Traditionally we do have few arrests of our fans at World Cups, but to have zero isn’t something we have seen before.
“It would be wrong to entirely attribute this excellent behaviour to the restrictions on alcohol in Qatar, but I do think it has helped to some degree.”
It follows torrid behaviour at Euro 2020 that saw England handed a two-match stadium ban after chaotic scenes at the final.
The FA was handed an £86,000 (A$155,000) fine for the behaviour of the fans throughout the tournament.
And despite England fans being on their behaviour in Qatar, there was still a bit of a raucous back home.
Domestically there were 531 football-related incidents in the United Kingdom, 150 of which took place during the England and France quarter-final.
Chief Constable Roberts added: “It has also been encouraging to see a reduction in the number of arrests in the UK throughout this World Cup so far.
"Unfortunately we have still seen a number of unsavoury incidents involving people watching football. As we move into the last week of the tournament, I would encourage everyone planning on watching the matches to behave responsibly.”
Topics: England, Football World Cup, Football, Qatar
Jayden Collins