Monday, July 7, 2025

Met Police recruit specialist football hate crime officer after SSN doc

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The Metropolitan Police have recruited a specialist officer to focus on hate crime in football – as a direct result of a Sky Sports News investigation.

In a special documentary which aired just before Christmas, Sky Sports News highlighted the country’s first football-specific hate crime police officer, PC Stuart Ward in the West Midlands.

Sky Sports News was given exclusive access to PC Ward’s work over several months, with behind-the-scenes footage of a number of live police investigations, and police operations at games within the Premier League and EFL.

Sky Sports News reported the first jailing of a supporter found guilty of racially abusing a footballer online.

The Metropolitan Police have told Sky Sports News it was as a result of seeing our documentary that the force decided to appoint its own dedicated officer, with a brief to focus on discrimination of all types within football in London.