Sheffield Wednesday concerned about police methods after baton injury | Football

Concern is growing at Sheffield Wednesday about South Yorkshire police’s methods at matches following the shocking incident on Saturday when an officer struck a 16-year-old supporter over the head with a baton after the away derby against Barnsley.

Club representatives are expected to meet the teenager shortly to discuss the incident, which was filmed and has been watched by hundreds of thousands of people on social media, with images also circulating of a serious injury to his head.

After South Yorkshire police initially said it would carry out a “full, open investigation” itself, the force referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on Monday. Responses to the force’s tweet announcing the IOPC referral included people tweeting pictures of the boy with blood pouring from his head wound, and expressions of anger, mistrust and lack of confidence in the force.

Sheffield Wednesday have not commented publicly on the incident, but it is understood that concerns are growing within the club that South Yorkshire police, despite launching a new “neighbourhood policing approach” to football in the summer, can still be too heavy handed. While officers in normal police uniform are engaging more with supporters following the change of policy, the force still deploys officers in protective gear, with Nato helmets and batons, depending on the assessed likelihood of disorder.

The Football League is funding research this season into project “Enable,” which promotes a more progressive approach to policing matches and has argued that the deployment of officers equipped for riot or disorder control is often excessive and counterproductive.

South Yorkshire police’s methods are subject to more scrutiny than some other forces owing to historical scandals involving the force and the fact the deputy chief constable, Mark Roberts, is the national lead officer in the UK Football Policing Unit, an influential part of the Home Office.

The force’s modern football policing was subjected to serious public criticism following problems at the derby between Wednesday and United at Hillsborough last March. Some supporters complained they were held in a crush outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles as they left the ground after the match, and that police officers had indiscriminately hit people with batons. Fans responding to a survey by the Football Supporters’ Federation rated the policing as on average 1.9 out of 10, and described the policing as “atrocious,” “irresponsible,” and “intimidating and unapproachable”.

Louise Haigh, the MP for Sheffield Heeley and Labour’s shadow minister for policing and crime, said of Saturday’s incident: “This event has caused deep public concern and underlines a sense among fans that matchdays are becoming increasingly hostile. Matchday police and commanders do an incredibly difficult job but it is vital that the tactics are proportionate and there is trust and extensive dialogue between fans and the police.”

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire police said the force could not comment further than Monday’s statement that confirmed a 16-year-old had suffered head injuries, that the incident had been referred to the IOPC, and said there had been “wider disorder” and appealed for witnesses. In response to concerns, the spokesperson stressed the new neighbourhood policing approach, and that it includes an independent advisory group for supporters.

A spokesperson for the FSA said: “This incident has the potential to undermine the huge progress that has been made in the policing of football matches. To restore confidence we urge the IOPC to conclude their investigation as swiftly as possible and to make it public at the earliest opportunity.

“When there is so much emphasis on the behaviour of supporters, while acknowledging that police officers are rightfully entitled to due process, it is only right they are held to the same high standards.”