First Football Tailgating Charge Brought In UK

LONDON, March 23 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- A man has been charged with allegedly entering the Carabao Cup final at Wembley without a ticket – the first charge for tailgating at a football match, London's Metropolitan Police said, reported PA Media/dpa.

Tailgating, which is when fans get through stadium turnstiles by walking closely behind ticket holders, became a criminal offence ahead of the match, five years after thousands of ticketless fans stormed the same stadium.

Offenders across England and Wales who are convicted of tailgating face a football banning order of up to five years as well as a fine of up to £1,000 (US$1,330).

A 27-year-old from Manchester was arrested at Sunday afternoon's final between Manchester City and Arsenal and charged with tailgating hours later at 7.45pm (1945 GMT).

He will appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court on May 1.

Two other men were arrested on suspicion of the same offence at Wembley and remain in police custody.

There was a 78 per cent reduction in offences at this year's final, the Met said.

A total of 20 arrests were made on Sunday compared to 91 arrests at the same fixture last year, the force added.

The arrests this year included seven for affray, one for assault of an emergency service worker, and one for racially aggravated assault.

A man was also arrested on suspicion of tailgating on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the north London team faced Nottingham Forest, police said.

He had been bailed pending further investigation.

Chief Inspector Pete Dearden, from the Metropolitan's public order unit and match commander at Wembley, said: "So much strategic planning goes into these operations.

"We expect high standards and every officer delivered that today.

"Huge changes have been implemented since last year, and we will now use the success of the policing operation today as a blueprint throughout the busy summer at Wembley so fans can safely enjoy upcoming fixtures."

The legislation was introduced following serious disorder when England played Italy at the Euro 2020 final.

Lives were put at risk when supporters broke into Wembley Stadium, a subsequent review by Baroness Louise Casey found.

The new laws follow her findings that sanctions for stadium breaches were weak and that tailgating should become a criminal offence.

Baroness Louise Casey is a government official and crossbench peer in the House of Lords, best known for leading major independent reviews on social issues and public safety.

She chaired the independent review into the security failures at Wembley Stadium during the UEFA Euro 2020 final.

There was previously no specific legal penalties for attending a football game without a ticket.

The Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act also makes it illegal to knowingly try to enter a match with forged tickets, passes and accreditation documents, as well as by pretending to be a member of stadium or playing staff.

It follows an independent review of the UEFA European Championship final held at Wembley in north London on July 11, 2021.

Baroness Casey identified more than 20 “near misses” that could have resulted in serious injury or death as a result of ticketless individuals trying to gain entry, and in some cases succeeding, for the England v Italy match.

Around 100,000 people travelled to Wembley for the final "of which approximately 2,000 gained entry to the stadium without tickets," with 17 mass breaches of the gates in the 90 minutes before kick-off until the penalty shootout.

The new laws also come after problems encountered by Liverpool supporters during their Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris in 2022.

In that instance, authorities were found to be at fault for major problems around the Stade de France despite their attempts to pin the blame on Liverpool supporters. 

-- BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa