Met Police charge first person with tailgating

The Met Police has authorised the country’s first charge for tailgating at a football match, following the Carabao Cup Final in Wembley on Sunday, 22 March.

A man in his 20s was arrested at the final and charged at 19:45hrs on Sunday, 22 March.

Benjamin Bailey, 27 (06.08.1998) of Fifth Avenue in Oldham, Manchester, will appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 1 May in connection with the alleged offence.

Two other men were arrested on suspicion of the same offence at Wembley. They remain in police custody.

Entering a football match in England and Wales without a ticket became a criminal offence under new laws at 00:01hrs on Sunday, 22 March. The legislation was introduced because of serious disorder that tainted the European Championship final between England and Italy at Wembley in July 2021, when thousands of fans forced their way into the stadium.

Those convicted of tailgating face a football banning order of up to five years, alongside a fine of up to £1,000.

Overall, the Met saw a 78 per cent reduction in offences at this year’s final. A total of 20 arrests were made, including seven for affray, one for assault of an emergency service worker, and one for racially aggravated assault.

This is compared to 91 arrests at the same fixture last year.

Chief Inspector Pete Dearden, of the Met’s public order unit and match commander at Wembley, said: “So much strategic planning goes into these operations. We expect high standards and every officer delivered that today. Huge changes have been implemented since last year, and we will now use the success of the policing operation today as a blueprint throughout the busy summer at Wembley so fans can safely enjoy upcoming fixtures.”

One person was also arrested on Sunday, 22 March on suspicion of tailgating at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Tottenham Hotspur faced Nottingham Forest. He has been bailed pending further investigation.