Taxpayer Tackle: Who Pays the Bill for UK Football Policing?

Send us a topic important to you.Football policing across the UK costs tens of millions of pounds annually, with the taxpayer currently covering the majority of the expense. This episode explores the financial arrangement where local police forces generally meet these costs. However, under Section 25 of the Police Act 1996, police can charge clubs for "special police services" on land owned or leased by the club, typically inside the grounds. A crucial 2017 court decision restricted cost recovery, confirming that police cannot charge clubs for services provided on public land outside the stadium, viewing this as normal policing duty. Government bodies and police leaders are now urgently exploring legislative reforms to ensure wealthy clubs bear more of the financial responsibility, arguing that the current rules are weighted too heavily in the clubs' favour.Key TakeawaysThe government is concerned that the cost of policing football matches falling to the public purse is currently too high.Police forces can charge football clubs for policing only under special police service arrangements and only for services provided on land owned or leased by the club (e.g., inside the stadium).A 2017 Court of Appeal ruling clarified that costs incurred for policing public roads immediately outside a stadium are considered normal policing duties and cannot be charged to the club.In the 2023-24 season, the total cost for football policing in England and Wales was £71.69 million, with taxpayers paying £56.82 million of that amount.Police leaders have suggested that requiring professional clubs to cover the full cost would "free up funds for another 1,200 officers".Definitions Special Police Services (SPS): Services police forces can charge for under Section 25 of the Police Act 1996. The proportion of costs recoverable is restricted by case law.Polluter Pays Approach: A policy concept where the organizer of a profitable event that necessitates security and policing should be responsible for covering those policing costs, instead of the public.Source: The cost of football policingResearch BriefingPublished Tuesday, 04 November, 2025Follow and subscribe to 'The Bench Report' on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes daily: thebenchreport.co.ukSubscribe to our Substack Shape our next episode! Get in touch with an issue important to you - Producer Tom will grab another coffee and start the research!Email us: [email protected] us on YouTube,  X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! @benchreportUKSupport us for bonus and extended episodes + more.No outside chatter: source material only taken from Hansard and the Parliament UK website.  Contains Parliamentary information repurposed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0....