Football Cops

The challenging work of officers from the UK Football Policing Unit across the 2022-23 season. Coventry Dedicated Football Officer (DFO) has his hands full with a fixture that's become a grudge match due to an incident that happened 50 years ago.

A live flare hits an 11-year-old during a match at Scunthorpe. Rival fans at the Walsall-Crewe game need keeping apart. Jubilant supporters are blocking the Ipswich team bus. And back in Scunthorpe, rival fans are battling in a housing estate.

Whenever England play abroad, the football cops go with them. In Germany, the team work with local police to stop the drunken revelry getting out of control. And some robust policing in Italy leaves England fans in need of support.

At the Bradford-Carlisle game, the football cops contend with running battles and a pitch invasion. While at the FA Cup Final, the challenge is keeping rival Man Utd and Man City fans apart.