Four England fans from the North East have been issued with football banning orders after disorder before England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia.
Police in Gelsenkirchen said there had been a total of eight arrests connected to England’s 1-0 win over Serbia on June 16, with one British national and seven Serbian nationals taken into custody. However, the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) said on Friday that it had since been working with German authorities to identify and take action against fans who were involved in disorder.
They UKFPU confirmed that a further four fans have attended court in the UK and been bailed with conditions to surrender their passports, and the body is continuing to investigate several other people who were believed to be involved in the disorder.
Lewis Dodsworth, 29, of Fulwell Road in Sunderland; Jack Hatton, 27, of Fordfield Road in Sunderland; and Gary McIvor, 38, of Eden Crescent in Darlington have all been given five-year football banning orders. Kyran Alcock, 28, of Martindale Avenue in Sunderland, was given a three-year football banning order.
Two further supporters from Lincoln and Essex were also given three-year football banning orders for their roles in the disorder. Those issued with the orders are unable to attend domestic matches and England internationals for the duration of their bans.
Mick Johnson, head of the UKFPU, stressed: “The vast majority of England fans in Germany are behaving extremely well, and those involved in any disorder are very much a tiny minority.” He added: “This swift action from police forces and courts across the UK shows that there are consequences for supporters who are intent on causing disorder at matches, whether they are here in the UK or overseas.”
England progressed to the last 16 of Euro 2024 after topping Group D with five points, and will play Slovakia in the first knockout phase in Gelsenkirchen at 5pm on Sunday.
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