ENGLISH fans subjected to Football Banning Orders must report to nominated Police Stations on June 7 when the Republic of Ireland host Roy Hodgson’s side in an international friendly at the Aviva Stadium.
The National Police Chiefs Council on Football Policing are implementing a number of measures to ensure there will be no repeat of the violence which marred the 1995 Lansdowne Road clash between the two countries.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts said: “It has been a point of pride in recent years that England fans’ behaviour has completely moved on from the dark days of the 1980s.
“We have been able to tell overseas police colleagues that they will not encounter the sort of problems that used to be associated with England fans.
"While the majority of fans continue to behave themselves, in the last four England away fixtures we have seen a significant amount of drunken anti-social behaviour, unpleasant chanting aimed at provoking home supporters and a small number of people who seem to take every opportunity to create distress for others.
“Regrettably that means we have to increase our enforcement activity using tactics that proved successful in addressing these problems in the past.
“Given the deterioration in fan behaviour and the proximity of Dublin, I have reintroduced the requirement to sign on at a police station as well as to surrender passports. We will be running a national operation to round up those who fail to comply before and immediately after the fixture.
“To make triply sure of compliance, these measures will be supplemented with all official England Supporters Travelling Club members being required to collect their tickets in person in Dublin with photo ID.
Roberts and a team of football intelligence ‘spotters’ from England have been given permission by An Garda Síochána to be deployed within the stadium next month.
“I am in regular contact with the FA and other partners in the football community and, while there is no specific intelligence as yet to suggest planned disorder there is sufficient concern to take proactive action to ensure that fans are clear that bad behaviour is not acceptable and will face serious sanctions.
“Football policing ‘spotters’ from England will also be present in Dublin and the Aviva stadium to gather evidence of any bad behaviour and ensure anyone who offends faces the consequences of their actions, We are working closely with An Garda Síochána to support their operation.”
