British police officers have arrived in Dublin to help identify English football hooligans who might attempt to enter the State, in defiance of travel bans, to cause trouble around the Republic of Ireland v England match this weekend.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris confirmed the English officers would act as observers or spotters while in the city. They are to be deployed in Garda control rooms, helping to monitor CCTV footage from across Dublin, and could also work on the streets with Garda Public Order Units.
However, Mr Harris said they will not have an active role in frontline policing while in Ireland.
“They have no policing powers,” he said of the English police officers coming to Dublin. “They’re there to observe, to assist us, and if we have to deal with disorder, they may be able to assist us in terms of (identifying) individuals, particularly if they have been banned from international travel.
“There is a scheme in England where some fans are banned from international football travel. And obviously travelling to Dublin, even though we have the Common Travel Area, still would be a breach of those sorts of bans.”
The presence of the English officers in Ireland mirrors the recent deployment of Garda members overseas, including at the Paris Olympics, to aid Irish people who may get into difficulty while abroad and to assist French police.
The Nations League clash takes place at the Avivia Stadium on Saturday evening. The last time the sides met at the stadium was in 2015. The game ended in a 0-0 draw and without major incident off the pitch. The previous meeting in Dublin, a 1995 friendly fixture at the then Lansdowne Road, had to be abandoned when English hooligans caused disorder.
There was a significant far-right element to those disturbances and the far-right has been especially active in Britain in recent months, including orchestrating riots following a stabbing incident in Southport last month. However, Mr Harris said there was no evidence so far of any such groups targeting Saturday’s game with a view to causing trouble.
“We’re live to all the various public order threats that may arise,” Mr Harris said when asked about British football hooligans possibly coming to Dublin and any influence the far-right may have in that.
The fact the game had been declared an “extraordinary event” in policing terms – which involves annual leave being cancelled to bolster resources – meant a “very substantial” Garda operation could be mounted around the game, he said.
“This (operation) would be both for the arrival of (England) fans and the for the maintenance of order in the city centre and at the football match,” he said. “At the Aviva Stadium itself, the vast majority of fans are going to be Ireland fans. And part of our operation is to make sure all fans can travel backwards and forwards to the match in safety and fans in the ground can watch it in safety free from the threat of public disorder or attack.”
The commissioner said English police had a specific operation for “gathering intelligence around football hooliganism” and the Garda had been “working very closely with them” in recent months.
“So we’re prepared for all the threats that might arise,” he said.
Mr Harris was speaking on Thursday at the launch of Garda bodyworn cameras in Waterford City. Similar devices have already been rolled out in Dublin and Limerick and have helped to detect crime, including drunk drivers trying to quickly switch to the back seats of cars when spotted, and others throwing drugs from cars as they approach Garda checkpoints.