JAKARTA - None of the England football team supporters were arrested by the police during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The strict rules for selling alcohol in the Middle East are considered to have contributed highly to the zero arrests of the Three Lions hoodigans.
"As long as the [England] national team's involvement in the tournament, no information on arrests or incidents has been reported. All who travel to Qatar deserve praise," said Cheshire Police Chief and Head of the British Football Special Police Unit, Mark Roberts, quoted from the Mirror, Sunday 18 December.
Fights often accompany England supporters while supporting their country in international events. Their fanatism towards football is unquestionable since the late 70s. As a result, tight security often accompanies the England national team match.
The bad image was last of public concern during the final of the Euro 2020 Pila. A total of 39 supporters were arrested by the police when England hosted Italy at Wembley at that time.
According to Home Office records, the total number of supporters who were secured during the Euro 2020 Cup amounted to 96 people. Almost all the arrests came from six matches involving the England national team.
Flashback again at the 2018 World Cup. Russia, which is the host, is busy with clashes between supporters, especially at the bar where the fanatical fans of world cup participating countries are struggling.
British supporters are among the ones who have often been in the spotlight throughout the tournament. Likewise, supporters of Russia and Wales - who are part of Great Britain. They often sparked acts of violence throughout the 2018 Russia World Cup.
But it's different now than it used to be. Mark Roberts said the positive attitude of British supporters this time, at the 2022 World Cup, was also triggered by security forces assigned to Qatar. The apparatus was deliberately flown by Buckingham Palace to maintain the security of British citizens during the four weeks of the 2022 World Cup.
He also did not deny that the behavior of Britain's supporters in Qatar was due to strict rules of drinking. However, he denied that the positive behavior of British supporters was entirely due to the regulation.
"It would be wrong to fully associate this extraordinary behavior with alcohol restrictions in Qatar, however I believe it has helped to a certain extent," he said.
Mark hopes that the positive behavior of British supporters in Qatar will spread domestically, in the remaining matches of the 2022-2023 league competition season.
The reason is, according to police records, the attitude of British supporters in Qatar is inversely proportional to domestically.
A total of 531 riots occurred in England from the first match to the Three Lions were beaten by France 1-2 in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals. All the riots in England were related to football matches.
Of the hundreds of riots, most were secured from licensed places that broadcast live broadcasts of the 2022 World Cup matches while trading alcoholic beverages.
However, there are positive things that have been revealed from this incident. The number of fans' arrests in England related to football, during the Qatar 2022 World Cup, has fallen compared to the world trophy four years ago.
Throughout the 2018 Russia World Cup, 225 people related to football were arrested by the police in England. Meanwhile, at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, only 115 supporters were arrested by the British police.
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