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Tommy Robinson could be banned from all football matches under police push

Far-right agitator faces bar from England games abroad

Zamira Rahim
Friday 11 October 2019 13:07 BST
Tommy Robinson punches England fan before match in Portugal

Tommy Robinson could be banned from all football matches in the UK, as well as all England matches at home and abroad.

Bedfordshire Police and the UK Football Policing Unit are working together in an attempt to have the far-right agitator barred from regulated football matches.

Officials are bidding to bar Robinson from “all regulated football matches, home and abroad”, according to The Daily Mirror.

A hearing on the matter will be held at Luton Magistrates Court on 18 October, a Bedfordshire Police spokesperson told The Independent.

“We have served papers ... regarding an application for a Football Banning Order,” the spokesperson added.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was filmed last year as he punched an English football fan to the ground.

In a video circulated on social media, the far-right figure was seen lashing out at a man in an England shirt outside the Estadio D Afonso Henriques stadium in Guimaraes.

The incident occurred before England’s match with the Netherlands in Portugal.

Immediately before the attack, people can be heard shouting Robinson’s name and other inaudible words.

Bedfordshire Police and the UK Football Policing Unit previously applied to ban Robinson from matches in 2016.

The 36-year-old successfully challenged the attempt in court.

Robinson has an extensive criminal record, much of which relates to football violence.

He has previously been convicted of offences including using threatening and abusing behaviour during a fight between fans.

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Robinson’s alias is itself taken from the member of a well-known football hooligan firm in his home town of Luton.

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