UK football police chief demands £58m from top Premier League clubs to curb ‘unjust’ fan treatment | OneFootball

The United Kingdom’s head of football policing is urging the government to introduce new legislation that would force the top Premier League clubs to fund matchday policing rather than taxpayers.

The Daily Mail says the policing bill is around £71 million a year, but only £13m is being recovered from clubs.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts has called for a change that reflects the immense wealth of the sport.

Roberts believes it is fundamentally ‘unjust’ for the public to subsidise an industry that has clubs which spend hundreds of millions in the transfer market.

There’s a loophole in the current policy that only allows clubs to be charged for security provided in their stadiums or any club-owned property.

Policing public roads, city centres and other areas around the stadium doesn’t fall under the club’s jurisdiction. It falls on taxpayers despite the fact that disturbances often occur in those areas.

“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,” 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, which is closed to cars and 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.”

Roberts also argues that the £58m shortfall should be recovered from clubs rather than public resources, which are already overstretched.

“That cannot be right,” he added. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for that extra money. We need new legislation urgently put in place to change this.”

He also dismissed the idea that top clubs already pay their fair share through taxes. Premier League clubs reportedly paid £4.2 billion in taxes during the 2021/22 season.

They made a one-off £7m payment last year, which was an attempt to increase the number of high-profile games scheduled for later kick-off times.