A NEW inquiry has been ordered into the policing row over a Huddersfield Town game.
The “rigorous review” will be carried out into West Yorkshire Police’s decision to impose travel restrictions for the Huddersfield Town v Hull City game last season.
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Police limited tickets for Hull fans and made them travel on official coaches to the match in March.
Those decisions prompted protests in Huddersfield by both Hull and Huddersfield fans, who claimed the police had painted a wrong picture of football supporters.
Now the release of internal emails showed the force was warned it could be acting irrationally.
West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson, said the new chief constable would investigate the decision.
He said: “The publication, under the Freedom of Information Act, of emails between senior officers regarding the policing arrangements of the fixture has raised a number of issues for me.
“Prior to the fixture I received a number of complaints from Hull City and Huddersfield Town supporters and their representatives following travel and other restrictions placed upon them as part of revised policing arrangements for a later kick-off.
“The publication of emails in relation to the matter now casts doubt on the rationale behind some of those decisions. With that in mind I have asked the Chief Constable Mark Gilmore, who was not in post at the time, to conduct a rigorous review of the policing arrangements put in place for the fixture and to address the concerns raised.
“To maintain the confidence of the public they serve, police forces must be able to clearly and justly support the decisions they make. It is with that commitment in mind that I have requested a thorough examination of the policing arrangements for the fixture.
“If this review finds the force failed to adequately consider the implications of decisions made at the time, I will seek reassurance from the Chief Constable that appropriate action to put matters right are taken, and ensure that lessons are learnt for the future.”
The game was switched to 5.20pm to allow for TV coverage but police insisted on strict arrangements for fans.
Click here for our fans' gallery from the match.
In the end the match passed off without any incidents.
The emails, released to a football supporters’ group, show the force’s legal team advised it would be found to be irrational, as similar restrictions were not imposed for a different game.
Hull East MP Karl Turner said the review should be carried out by a different force.
“I always said at the time that I thought it was an over-the-top reaction,” he said.
