THE INDEPENDENT: Fans have been leading lights in their communities, not louts waiting to disrupt football’s return

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“I don’t think we can apply what happened at the PSG match to what is likely to occur should matches be held behind closed doors in the UK,” Geoff Pearson, a Senior Lecturer at Manchester University and researcher on policing and football crowds told The Independent.

“There are simply too many variables. The situation at the time of the PSG game was very different in terms of our knowledge about how dangerous Covid-19 can be and the French laws at the time were much less strict than the regulations prohibiting gatherings that are currently in force here.

“Further, there are very significant differences between the situation in Paris and the UK. There has been quite serious disorder in Paris, which has not been replicated here, largely due to differences in policing styles.

 

“We must also may attention to the differences in fan behaviour between the countries. British fans have always been less interested in large scale gatherings away from stadiums than European clubs with active and organised ‘ultra’ groups.”

Pearson, an expert in supporter habits around matches, does not subscribe to the notion that there would automatically be crowds around grounds when football resumes.