Post by cenydd on Aug 23, 2013 9:51:43 GMT
Football supporters are being warned that abuse of players or fellow fans on online social media is being targeted this season by police and prosecutors.
New guidelines for tackling hooligans in England and Wales also address homophobic chanting for the first time.
Match-related incidents have been falling but there will continue to be a "robust prosecution policy".
Police say troublemakers given banning orders will find they are unable to attend the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
The orders prevent supporters from travelling to matches for a minimum of three years and any imposed this season would also affect supporters hoping to attend Euro 2016 in France, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Association of Chief Police Officers added in a statement setting out the policy guidance.
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The CPS said there was a "place for humour in football but where the line between humour and offensive behaviour is crossed then positive action will be taken".
Mr Hawkins said: "It's not just criminality in the stands that will be taken on. Our legal guidance on communications sent by social media clearly sets out how we will approach the abuse of players or fellow supporters online."
He said the "worst examples" of "vile abuse or threatening tweets" would be prosecuted.
Prosecutions following online racist abuse of Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch last year, and Northampton Town players Adebayo Akinfenwa and Clarke Carlisle showed the CPS took such incidents "seriously", he said.
"Decent, law-abiding football fans deserve to be reassured that the criminal justice system is better equipped than ever before to protect their right to follow their teams in safety, while players, referees and supporters should know that harassment and abuse against them will not be tolerated," he added.
"In years gone by, racist and homophobic chanting in the stands was an ugly feature of football matches across the country, but I believe we are beginning to see a shift in culture... but hate crime legislation has a large part to play in this ongoing culture change."
New guidelines for tackling hooligans in England and Wales also address homophobic chanting for the first time.
Match-related incidents have been falling but there will continue to be a "robust prosecution policy".
Police say troublemakers given banning orders will find they are unable to attend the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
The orders prevent supporters from travelling to matches for a minimum of three years and any imposed this season would also affect supporters hoping to attend Euro 2016 in France, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Association of Chief Police Officers added in a statement setting out the policy guidance.
.....................................................
The CPS said there was a "place for humour in football but where the line between humour and offensive behaviour is crossed then positive action will be taken".
Mr Hawkins said: "It's not just criminality in the stands that will be taken on. Our legal guidance on communications sent by social media clearly sets out how we will approach the abuse of players or fellow supporters online."
He said the "worst examples" of "vile abuse or threatening tweets" would be prosecuted.
Prosecutions following online racist abuse of Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch last year, and Northampton Town players Adebayo Akinfenwa and Clarke Carlisle showed the CPS took such incidents "seriously", he said.
"Decent, law-abiding football fans deserve to be reassured that the criminal justice system is better equipped than ever before to protect their right to follow their teams in safety, while players, referees and supporters should know that harassment and abuse against them will not be tolerated," he added.
"In years gone by, racist and homophobic chanting in the stands was an ugly feature of football matches across the country, but I believe we are beginning to see a shift in culture... but hate crime legislation has a large part to play in this ongoing culture change."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23796712
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. By instinct I don't like the idea of people not being allowed to speak their minds, but on the other hand I certainly don't accept that that should mean that anybody can simple abuse other people because of football, race, sexuality, or whatever, without fear of being held responsible. 'Freedom of speech' does not have to mean 'Anything goes', but there do have to be some very good guidelines drawn up to prevent over-zealous application of the law by the police and courts.
As for extending the principles of racist chanting from the stands to homophobic chants, I fully support it, obviously. The UK has done a great deal in addressing the nasty and abusive fan chants (especially over race), and that is something that some other European countries should learn from. It isn't in any way acceptable, but it is still going on regularly in some places.
