England and Wales fans behaved impeccably at Qatar 2022 - no arrests
The UK’s chief football police officer welcomes the finding and says problems obtaining alcohol in Qatar may have been the key.
Not one single England or Wales fan was arrested in Qatar during the World Cup, in which both nations participated. Metropolitan Police Chief Constable Mark Roberts praised travelling British supporters in Qatar for their “exemplary behaviour” in statements reported by the BBC.
Approximately 4,000 England fans and 3,000 Wales fans made the trip to Qatar to lend their support to their respective teams. Wales, taking part their first World Cup finals since 1958, bowed out at the group stage while Gareth Southgate’s England advanced to the quarter finals only to be eliminated by France.
Scarcity of alcohol, a contributing factor
Roberts believes that one of the key factors in ensuring that fans remained on their best behaviour throughout the tournament was the difficulty in obtaining alcohol, which is banned in many Middle Eastern countries with only limited availability at the 2022 World Cup. Much of the trouble at previous finals has been attributed to drunkenness. At Qatar 2022, no serious incidents occurred among the thousands of British fans who travelled to the tournament. “In Russia 2014 there were three arrests. But, having two teams in Qatar, we played twice as many group games: including a direct clash between England and Wales, which underscores the good character of our fans.”
Curiously, within the United Kingdom, 531 World Cup-related altercations were reported - 150 of them during the night of the France-England quarter-final, with English defeat and elimination. In total, 115 arrests were made in the UK during the finals, most of them linked to places where football could be seen.