Football thugs face South Africa travel ban

September 04 2009 by Mark Johnstone

UK football thugs not welcome in South Africa

Football fans have been warned they will be banned from attending next year's World Cup in South Africa if they are found causing violence or disorder at matches in the UK.

The warning from police forces comes as the 2009 season kicks off.

Chief Superintendent Neil Mackay, head of Northumbria Police operations department, confirmed to the Shields Gazette that the UK Football Policing Unit is seeking to extend football banning orders to prevent hooligans making the short-term move to to South Africa for the World Cup in 2010.

"The last thing we want are these hooligans ruining the tournament for the genuine fans and causing embarrassment for our country," he remarked.

Wendy Williams from the Crown Prosecution Service added that courts "must always make an order" when they are satisfied they have found reasonable grounds to believe it will help prevent violence or disorder at football matches.

The police holding cells for World Cup trouble-makers in Cape Town have been described as "grim" by a Daily Mirror reporter who was given access last week. The tiny, 10 sq metre concrete cells are actually constructed within the Green Point Stadium football ground itself, each one capable of holding 8 inmates.

The offenders face being fast-tracked through the courts and convicted within hours of their arrest.

All visitors to the tournament require a valid South Africa visa.

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