The Premier League is planning an elaborate measure to arrest the increasing menace of crowd trouble in matches. Recently, a League One referee was chased off a match by hostile fans who protested his officiating. Also, an FA Cup fixture between Wolves and West Ham was forced to be delayed by 30 minutes due to crowd trouble in the stands which led to a heavy head injury to a fan.
To curb the rising menace of violent acts by unscrupous fans, Daily Mail reports the Premier League wants to pay security agents as much as £7million to secure matches.
As other security establishments, the British police is financed by the British government as an essential public service. The planned financial incentive by the Premier League has been largely controversial.
The proposed payments has been termed as 'sweeteners' - financial incentives to encourage the Police to provide security services on high-risk games, especially derby matches.
Not all matches will be targeted. Only high-risk games with likelihood of crowd trouble will be bankrolled, as per the new arrangement. Payment is expected to be made to security forces across the UK that have top-flight clubs in their areas.
As of the time of filing this report, the Premier League are yet to comment on the proposed plan as leaked by UK media.
Generally, reports say UK security officials have been reluctant to partner with the Premier League on high-risk security matches due to neglect and undetailed security arrangement that always poses a risk to the officers. Most officers reportedly turn down calls to secure derby matches.
Proponents of the plan have cited the need to encourage the security forces to do more when it comes to derby matches as a rationale for the planned bankroll. Nevertheless, some fans have described it as wasteful and unacceptable as it hinges on subtle attempt to commercialize the security services. Also, the Premier League have been swiped for trying to protect the interest of their corporate TV partners who want the match to be aired even at riskier times like late night games.
The concerns are that late fixtures pose high security risks as fans are more likely to spend time in clubs and bars before and after the game.
Early this season, Liverpool Vs Chelsea match was moved from 5:30GMT to 12:30GMT for security reasons. With the planned 'sweetener payments' to security officials, late evening fixtures will kicked off as scheduled with heavy presence of security officials.
To curb the rising menace of violent acts by unscrupous fans, Daily Mail reports the Premier League wants to pay security agents as much as £7million to secure matches.
As other security establishments, the British police is financed by the British government as an essential public service. The planned financial incentive by the Premier League has been largely controversial.
The proposed payments has been termed as 'sweeteners' - financial incentives to encourage the Police to provide security services on high-risk games, especially derby matches.
Not all matches will be targeted. Only high-risk games with likelihood of crowd trouble will be bankrolled, as per the new arrangement. Payment is expected to be made to security forces across the UK that have top-flight clubs in their areas.
As of the time of filing this report, the Premier League are yet to comment on the proposed plan as leaked by UK media.
Generally, reports say UK security officials have been reluctant to partner with the Premier League on high-risk security matches due to neglect and undetailed security arrangement that always poses a risk to the officers. Most officers reportedly turn down calls to secure derby matches.
Proponents of the plan have cited the need to encourage the security forces to do more when it comes to derby matches as a rationale for the planned bankroll. Nevertheless, some fans have described it as wasteful and unacceptable as it hinges on subtle attempt to commercialize the security services. Also, the Premier League have been swiped for trying to protect the interest of their corporate TV partners who want the match to be aired even at riskier times like late night games.
The concerns are that late fixtures pose high security risks as fans are more likely to spend time in clubs and bars before and after the game.
Early this season, Liverpool Vs Chelsea match was moved from 5:30GMT to 12:30GMT for security reasons. With the planned 'sweetener payments' to security officials, late evening fixtures will kicked off as scheduled with heavy presence of security officials.