Football fans are being warned they are heading for a ‘red card′ if they drink too much during Euro 2012.
Cheshire Police say officers will deal quickly and firmly with any disorder in or around pubs and other venues where fans gather to watch matches. Action taken against people who cause trouble is likely to include applications for Football Banning Orders.
Nineteen people in Cheshire are currently subject to football bans. As well as being barred from English football grounds they all had to surrender their passports at the end of May. They will not get them back until the end of the tournament on July 1st.
Assistant Chief Constable Janette McCormick said, "The bans are an important part of the strategy to deal with football violence. They can be imposed for any football-related disorder even if it is not at a football ground.
If the anti social behaviour is in a bar or on the street, we will apply for a ban if we think it is appropriate.
"Football is an important part of life for a lot of people. We want fans to enjoy the games without having to worry about possible violence or abuse from a small minority.
"It only takes one or two people to drink too much and ruin the events for everyone else. We are not prepared to tolerate this and officers will respond quickly and firmly when any trouble is reported.
"England matches will obviously attract major attention from the fans and extra officers will be on duty at those times. We will use all the powers at our disposal to deal with any anti social behaviour, including fixed penalty fines and arrest where necessary.
"Our Good, Bad and Ugly campaign to highlight the consequences of drinking too much is running through the summer and the Euro 2012 contests are part of it.
"High-impact images illustrating the consequences of drinking too much will be on the Cheshire Police website http://www.cheshire.police.uk/ . We hope people will look at them and get the message.
"All we are suggesting is that people drink sensibly and show reasonable consideration for the comfort and well-being of everyone else."
England is drawn in Group D in the Euro 2012 finals. The first match is against France on June 11th.
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