- The head of UK’s football police wants clubs to pay for them, not the public
- Clubs are currently paying around £13million of an annual £71m bill for policing
- Chief Constable Mark Roberts demands an ‘urgent’ change to the ‘unjust’ rules
By MIKE KEEGAN
Published: | Updated:
The UK’s head of football policing is calling for a law change that would force football clubs – and not the taxpayer – to fund a £58m shortfall.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts says it is ‘unjust’ for the public ‘to have to subsidise such a rich industry’ – with forces currently only able to charge for services provided inside stadiums and on club property.
‘They do not have to pay a penny towards the policing of surrounding streets, city centres or towards the increasing marches to stadiums by fans,’ Mr Roberts said.
‘When you think about the number of stadiums that back on to public land that does not make any sense. Old Trafford, for example, where you have Sir Matt Busby Way that is closed to cars and which needs to be policed. At Bramall Lane, the away fans come straight out onto Bramall Lane which is where the flashpoints tend to be. It’s madness.’
Mr Roberts is the head of the UK Football Policing Unit, which claims that, of an annual bill of £71m, only £13m is being recouped from clubs.
‘That cannot be right,’ he told Mail Sport. ‘I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for that extra money. We need new legislation urgently putting in place to change this.’
UK football’s police chief Mark Roberts wants clubs to fund a £58million shortfall in funding
He argues it is ‘unjust’ for the taxpayer to pay for police to watch over action around matches
Police officers are deployed on the interior of stadiums as well as on the surrounding streets
Mr Roberts rejected the notion that because top clubs pay more taxes they should be able to call on more resources.
‘Everyone pays taxes,’ he said. ‘That’s life. Just because you live in a wealthy area, it does not mean you get more police resources. In a nutshell, this means that we as the police are subsidising clubs that quite happily spend close to £400m in a single transfer window.’
Mr Roberts has backing from head of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley, who earlier this week made a similar point. ‘Why isn’t the organiser paying, rather than local communities who lose their resources to go to football matches?’ he told the BBC.
The Premier League declined to comment. Top-flight clubs paid £4.2bn in tax during the 2021-22 season. As Mail Sport revealed, they also made a one-off ‘gift’ payment of around £7m last year in a move some viewed as an attempt to increase the number of high-profile matches kicking off in later slots.
