The Club World Cup tournament will take place in the US (PA)
The Club World Cup tournament will take place in the US (PA)
Violent football fans will be banned from travelling to a major tournament this summer in a bid to “crack down on the hooligan minority”.
Manchester City and Chelsea fans with a record for previous thuggish behaviour will be stopped from attending the Fifa Club World Cup in the USA after fresh legislation comes into force on Wednesday.
The two clubs qualified to represent England and the Premier League at the expanded international event which will see 32 teams compete.
Any fans subject to a football banning order will have to surrender their passports to police from June 9 to July 13 or face an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison.
We will continue to crack down on the hooligan minority, so that the vast majority can carry on attending football without trouble
Around 150 Manchester City and Chelsea supporters are expected to be affected by the move and will be contacted by the Football Banning Orders Authority.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “Many Manchester City and Chelsea fans will want to travel to support their teams in this summer’s tournament and we want them all to do so safely and enjoyably.
“But for the tiny minority of troublemakers who use football as an excuse for criminality, we will be applying the same proven preventative measures that we have successfully done for other overseas tournaments.
“We will continue to crack down on the hooligan minority, so that the vast majority can carry on attending football without trouble.”
Similar measures were enforced at Euro 2024, which saw 99% of those subject to a banning order comply and surrender their passports for the tournament’s duration.
Some 2,172 football banning orders were in force in England and Wales from data taken on August 1 2024.
The court orders for a football-related offence can include violence, disorder, pitch invasion and online hate crime linked to the sport.
They ban people from attending football matches for up to five years and up to 10 years if someone is jailed over the offence.
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