WIREDGOV

Supporters with football banning orders prevented from travelling to Qatar for the World Cup.

Measures to prevent disruptive and violent football fans subject to football banning orders in England and Wales from travelling to the World Cup in Qatar came into effect as of friday (14 October 2022).

From 10 November the 1,308 people subject to a football banning order will be required to hand in their UK passports to the police until the end of the tournament, facing up to 6 months in prison and an unlimited fine if they fail to do so or attempt to travel to Qatar and neighbouring countries.

Passports will be returned to individuals after the final match of the tournament. If they wish to travel to other countries during this period, they will need to seek permission to hold on to their passports and will be subject to thorough checks.

As part of a targeted operation at ports, police will also be able to intercept known troublemakers who are likely to cause further disruption to stop them from attending the tournament. If they are caught attempting to travel, they will face a banning order court hearing within 24 hours.

Police officers in the UK and Qatar will gather intelligence during the tournament, with fans causing disruption during the World Cup risking arrest or being handed a football banning order on their return to the UK.

This is part of wider action the government has taken to crack down on violence and disorder at football matches, which includes extending football banning orders to cover the women’s domestic game and football-related online hate crime, and the imminent extension to Class A drug offences at matches.

The police also continue to take action, with over 2,100 arrests made and 516 new football banning orders issued in the 2021 to 2022 season.