World Cup arrest statistics reveal shock record for England and Wales fans in Qatar…but it’s a different story back home
ENGLAND and Wales fans have been praised for their "exemplary" behaviour in the Qatar World Cup.
No British fans were arrested in the Gulf state while there was not a single report lodged of incidents involving English or Welsh supporters.
And while Britain's top football cop suggested the good behaviour may have been linked to the last minute stadium booze ban, he also feels the fans deserved to be congratulated.
Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts said: “The behaviour of England and Wales out in Qatar was absolutely exemplary.
“Throughout the home nations involvement in the tournament there were no arrests or incidents to report, which is a credit to all those who travelled.
“In Russia 2018 there were three arrests, but obviously having two teams in this tournament we played double the group stage games, including a home nations derby, which underlines the good nature of our fans.
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“I would also like to praise all the UK officers who travelled out to Qatar for the work they have done in helping to keep British nationals safe during the past four weeks.
“The atmosphere at all the home nations’ games was passionate but friendly, and it would be fantastic to see this replicated at matches back home throughout the rest of the season.
“Traditionally we do have few arrests of our fans at World Cups, but to have zero isn’t something we have seen before.
“It would be wrong to entirely attribute this excellent behaviour to the restrictions on alcohol in Qatar, but I do think it has helped to some degree.”
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The good behaviour in the desert has not been entirely matched at home with police recording 531 football related incidents across the UK since the beginning of the tournament – 150 of which took place on the evening of the England v France match on Saturday.
This has resulted in 115 football related arrests, the vast majority linked to incidents at pubs and clubs but is still barely half the 225 arrests at the same stage during the Russia World Cup four years ago.
Chief Constable Roberts added: “It has also been encouraging to see a reduction in the number of arrests in the UK throughout this World Cup so far.
“Unfortunately we have still seen a number of unsavoury incidents involving people watching football.
“As we move into the last week of the tournament I would encourage everyone who is planning on watching the matches to behave responsibly.”