Up to 400 convicted football hooligans remain free to attend matches in England and travel to the World Cup in Korea and Japan as they have not been banned by magistrates, BBC radio reported today.
Under the Football Disorder Act hooligans face a minimum three-year ban from attending matches in England and abroad if magistrates accept a ban application made by the police after a football-related conviction.
But in Watford, for example, just one in 20 applications led to a ban last year, according to a BBC Five Liveprogramme. Magistrates review the cases and decide whether to impose a ban and if they decide not to they must explain themselves.
A National Criminal Intelligence Service spokesman said today: "Our position is that we have always called for a stringent application of the act. The act is adequate for the task in hand, but will only work if police are willing to seek orders and magistrates grant them."
About 900 hooligans have been banned since the legislation came into force following violent clashes at Euro 2000 and almost half as many should have been banned, according to the Association of Chief Police Officers, cited by the BBC.
Banned hooligans are obliged to report to police stations when England begin their World Cup campaign in the summer.
But convicted hooligans who have not been banned are free to travel to the World Cup in Korea and Japan.