London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Online racists face football ban of up to 10 years, vows Boris Johnson

Online racists face football ban of up to 10 years, vows Boris Johnson

The government has promised to ban people who abuse footballers online from stadiums for up to 10 years, in the same way as "violent thugs".

Boris Johnson said Football Banning Orders would be amended to allow this and that tech firms would be fined for failing to stop "vile behaviour".

His comments follow several England players being abused following the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the PM's words rang "hollow".

He accused Mr Johnson of "trying to stoke a culture war" by refusing to condemn football fans who booed players for taking the knee.

Some Conservative MPs and activists have also expressed unease at the government's stance, with former minister Steve Baker saying the outpouring of support for England's Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho should serve as a "wake-up" for the party.

A 37-year-old man was earlier arrested by Greater Manchester Police over social media posts.

An online petition calling for the FA and the government to ban those who have carried out racist abuse to be banned from football grounds for life has attracted more than one million signatures.

In a statement, Mr Johnson said: "I was appalled by the abhorrent abuse directed towards a number of our footballers in the aftermath of Sunday's game. More must be done to prevent people being bullied and trolled online."

New laws would "force social media companies to take responsibility and action where this vile behaviour exists" or face fines, he added.

Mr Johnson also said: "We are also working closely with the football and police authorities to ensure we can track and take action against online abusers and will ban them from football grounds in the same way we would if they had committed these offences on our streets."

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson said the England team "represent the very best of our country", adding: "I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on Sunday night."

A football banning order is used to prevent someone from attending matches for between three and 10 years.

It can be imposed for offences such as throwing missiles on to the playing area or into the crowd, and racist or indecent chanting at a match.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - who has been calling for online racists to be banned from matches - said the government had only promised to act because "they've realised they're on the wrong side, and now they're hoping nobody has noticed".

He accused the PM of "trying to stoke a culture war" by refusing "time and time again - even now - to condemn those who boo our players for standing up against racism".

But the prime minister said: "Nobody defends booing the England side."

Ahead of the Euro 2020 tournament, Mr Johnson declined to condemn England fans who booed players taking the knee, saying fans should "cheer them on, not boo".

Home Secretary Priti Patel described the act as "gesture politics". Asked in June if she would criticise fans who booed England players taking the knee, she said: "That's a choice for them, quite frankly."

On Monday, she tweeted that she was "disgusted" by the online abuse directed at England players.

England footballer Tyrone Mings replied that she had "stoked the fire" through her stance on taking the knee.

Sir Keir challenged the prime minister on the home secretary's stance, saying: "He (Mings) is right, isn't he?"

Mr Johnson defended the home secretary and said Ms Patel had "faced racism and prejudice all her career of a kind that he can never imagine".


Sir Keir Starmer: Boris Johnson "can't have it both ways" on racism

Tory activist Albie Amankona urges the party to take a stand on racism

The SNP's Ian Blackford accuses Boris Johnson of “dog whistling” over racism


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×