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England fans attract increased police activity ahead of Ireland friendly

15 Feb 1995:  General view of the teams and supporters as the match is abandoned after 27 minutes due to crowd trouble during the International Friendly be
Image: Police are keen to avoid a repeat of the 1995 fixture

Police are to clamp down on potential trouble-makers ahead of next month's friendly between England and the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Football banning orders will be enforced for the game at the Aviva Stadium on June 7, when England play in the Irish capital for the first time since crowd violence saw a friendly abandoned in February 1995.

A 1-1 draw between the sides at Wembley in May 2013 passed without incident but following a deterioration in the behaviour of fans at England's last four away games, the police are determined to avoid problems.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council Lead on football policing, 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.

"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 Siochana to support their operation."

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