Thousands of offenders in the United Kingdom are to be banned from drinking alcohol during the football World Cup, in an effort to cut alcohol-fuelled crime around the tournament. According to the government, around 7,300 criminals will be made to wear alcohol-detecting tags at some point during the competition. The measure is being presented as a way to help keep the public safe during a period of heightened concern over disorder.
The restriction will apply to people who have recently been released from prison or who are serving community sentences. These offenders will be required to wear tags capable of detecting alcohol in the body, which allows them to be monitored for any breach of the drinking ban. Authorities have tied the monitoring directly to the weeks of the tournament, when the risk of trouble is seen as higher.
The technology behind the measure is not entirely new. So-called sobriety tags were first introduced around 2020, making the devices about six years old. However, officials say this is the first time the tags are being deployed on such a scale alongside a major event like the World Cup, marking a significant expansion in how the monitoring is being used.
The government has framed the policy around the wider cost of alcohol-related harm. According to officials, alcohol-fuelled harm costs the economy around 21 billion pounds a year. By targeting offenders considered at risk of reoffending, authorities argue that the surge in tagging can help reduce both the human and the financial toll linked to alcohol-related crime.
A particular concern, according to the plans, is the rise in violence and anti-social behaviour that can occur around big matches. Large tournaments often bring crowds, celebrations and heavy drinking, which authorities associate with a higher risk of disorder. The tagging programme is intended to address that risk during the most sensitive moments of the competition, especially around major fixtures.
The government says the measure will help keep the public safe, cut reoffending and act as a wake-up call for those subject to it. Officials describe the move as part of a broader effort to manage alcohol-related harm during the tournament. The scale of the planned rollout, covering thousands of offenders, reflects how significant the issue is considered to be around major sporting events.