Legal Responses to Football Crowd Disorder and Violence in England and Wales

Abstract

Legal responses to football crowd disorder in England and Wales are often seen as best-practice by authorities in other European states. This is because so-called ‘hooliganism’ was considered to be a serious problem in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s but following a series of legislative and police strategy changes, crowd disorder and violence in and around British stadia is now rare. However, while changes in policing strategy have been important in this development, we should not overestimate the impact of legislation and in particular football banning orders. Some laws have not been proven to be effective, some may be counterproductive, and other ‘non legal’ factors have played an important role in the reduction in violence and disorder. Furthermore, serious questions remain about the proportionality and legality of some policing and legislative measures when assessed against civil libertarian protections and the European Convention on Human Rights.