Communities foot the bill

IN July, the head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, told the BBC that football clubs should pay towards the £70m cost of policing their matches.

- Cath Davis, North Tyneside Community Independents

He argued that the organiser should pay rather than local communities who lose their resources to go to football matches. ‘The statement was criticised by sporting bodies who said it would lead to increased ticket prices.

However, it does highlight the amount of resources spent to police events such as football matches. ‘This became a hot topic recently when Birmingham's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) - the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches - informed Aston Villa that no travelling fans would be permitted for the match against Maccabi Tel Aviv on November 6. ‘The West Midlands police backed the SAG's decision, saying it classified the match as ‘high risk’.