US refuses to pay for British police to help deal with England fans at World Cup
Three British officers will go out to the tournament next month
UK police are only sending three officers to the US for the World Cup after the White House elected not to fund a British law enforcement presence.
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The UK’s national football lead, Cheshire Constabulary’s chief constable Mark Roberts, said there will be 37 less officers on the ground than for the Euros in Germany two years ago, saying: “The cost is prohibitive.”
The police chief stressed that the “really well-behaved” England fans who will be in attendance at the tournament “reduces the threat” of any clashes with armed police.
He added: “We would like more… if there was more there we could try and reduce the risk and make it a bit easier for everyone, but it is what it is, and we’ll clearly do the best we can with the resources we deploy.”
Mr Roberts said there was “no hostility to deployment” of British officers in the US from the White House task force, but “they’re just taking the view that they don’t want to finance” the mobile units.
Officers sent to tournaments abroad act as “cultural interpreters” for the “singing, drinking and boisterous” England fans – informing local law enforcement that they would not be likely to cause any trouble, he said.
The police chief said it was “fairly clear what the position was” when discussions were held with the US over sending officers, adding: “Most other European countries just aren’t bothering.”
Mr Roberts added that the UK delegation would ideally include two officers inside the stadium, two in the city centre and two in transport hubs – with six to 10 deemed to be the number they would usually look to send.
The police chief said Germany and Qatar had funded a UK police presence during Euro 2024 and the World Cup in 2022 respectively.
More than 10,000 England fans have bought tickets for the group games in Dallas, Boston and New Jersey despite the criticisms over the prices of tickets and travel in the US next month.
Mr Roberts said fans were “looking forward” to the tournament following the previous tournaments being held in Russia and Qatar, but said some of the “pricing issues” were “taking some of the shine off that expectation”.
Mr Roberts said: “This isn’t a criticism, it’s a statement of fact – but the number of officers we send is generally dependent on the request of the hosts, and that will vary significantly.
“So in Germany, we had 40 officers out there with federal and state police – the deal being, in effect… you get your officers out there, and then the hosts accommodate, give them travel, meals, etc.
“And that’s the basic arrangement for every tournament.
“This one, it’s a different system in the States. The States aren’t funding mobile travel delegations this time.”
The police chief described it as a “significant change to what we would normally deploy”, adding: “Because we’ve got to fund it in its entirety.”
He continued: “The cost for fans is quite high, and it’s equally high for us – so we’re having to fund that.
“So that’s limiting the number of officers we can get out there.”
Explaining the work of UK officers at tournaments abroad, Mr Roberts said: “We’ll be saying to the local police often – ‘this isn’t a problem’.
“They might be loud, clearly may have a drink or two, but we will often be trying to calm people down, say this is not a problem, this is not a precursor to disorder, they are just having a good time and enjoying themselves.
“Equally, we can relay that to the fans… to get the message out… to say ‘this might be acceptable in the UK, but you’re now starting to cause a bit of offence – let’s head out of trouble and not let it escalate.”