The Football (Disorder) Act 2000 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

enacted during the premiership of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

. It served as an amendment to the

Football Spectators Act 1989 The Football Spectators Act 1989 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. Its provisions apply primarily to football matches played in England and Wales. Amendments to the Act wer ...

, and strengthened football banning orders (FBOs), a civil order imposed to those convicted of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, Kick (football), kicking a Football (ball), ball to score a Goal (sport), goal. Unqualified, Football (word), the word ''football'' normally means the form of football tha ...

-related offences. FBOs may be issued by courts in the United Kingdom, or following a complaint from a local police force. The Act was "rushed through Parliament" by then-

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

following violent clashes during

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament wa ...

. It allows police in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Engl ...

to arrest those suspected of travelling abroad to participate in

hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

at international games, and to withhold their passports up to five days before an international fixture. Straw stated during an opposition day for his Bill that he was keen to enact the new laws in time for England's next international game against France in September 2000. FBOs, introduced by Football Spectators Act 1989, may ban an individual from football grounds in the United Kingdom for two to ten years, with provisions for individual cases. Supporters may also be barred from using

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typica ...

on matchdays, and from town centres and built-up, high-risk areas prior to and following matches. The Act has been criticised by civil liberties campaigners for being "draconian", fearing it may result in profiling based on fan appearance. More than 450 supporters were prevented from travelling to Greece for a World Cup qualifier in 2001 under the Act.

References

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External links

Text of the Football (Disorder) Act 2000
as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from

legislation.gov.uk legislation.gov.uk, formerly known as the UK Statute Law Database, is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force since 1267 and ...

History of football in England United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2000 Association football law 2000–01 in English football