In the lead-up to this year’s Euros, nearly 200 football fans have been issued banning orders by the police. The Metropolitan Police’s football policing unit secured a record 197 football banning orders last season, marking the highest number ever in a single season.

Most of the fans banned will be required to surrender their passports to the police, effectively preventing them from travelling to Germany for the 2024 Euros. Depending on the specifics of the orders issued, these fans could also be prohibited from being near domestic stadiums or towns on match days.

In April alone, the Met applied for 79 football banning orders in an effort to ensure the safety of matches in London and to curb disorder. The unit has also imposed 52 bans for public order offences, including eight for tragedy chanting and another eight for racially aggravated public order offences.

The Met’s strict no-tolerance policy towards football fans found in possession of Class A drugs led to the implementation of 51 three-year bans last season. Additionally, there were 28 bans for assault and 48 separate bans for football-related offences, such as throwing missiles or flares onto the pitch.

Chief Inspector Pete Dearden, who leads football policing for the Met, praised the efforts of the football policing unit, stating: “This has been a brilliant effort from the football policing unit to secure the banning orders and prevent serious disorder taking place in our communities on matchday.

The majority of our officers working on football are fans themselves. We understand the passion but want to make sure matches taking place in the capital are safe spaces for everyone attending.

He added: “We know the Euros is going to be a hugely popular tournament for fans travelling from London to watch England hopefully bring football home. Our dedicated football officers have worked tirelessly with clubs across the capital to secure the bans for fans who cause disorder at domestic matches, to stop them from doing the same abroad.