Football fans in England and Wales are over-policed

The Footballer Supporters' Federation (FSF) has said that
football fans in England and Wales are over-policed.

“Fans are still being subjected to heavy-handed policing week in, week out,” BBC quoted FSF spokeswoman Amanda Jacks, as saying.

She accused police of being wrong in treating supporters as hooligans, most of whom are children and with family.

However, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has disputed the claim by saying that now, Premier League matches do not have police presence, instead it relies solely upon the clubs' stewards.

"If you look at a club like Sheffield Wednesday, perhaps 20 years ago South Yorkshire would have sent over 1,100 officers to a high risk match, that figure today has dropped to below 300, which reflects the changes in football, and the change to the demographic of fans,” he said.

Jacks insisted that police should judge fans on their behaviour at the time, and not their reputation.

The FSF is due to discuss the issue later at its latest annual gathering "Fans Parliament".