A RIGOROUS review will be carried out into the policing arrangements that saw West Yorkshire Police impose restrictions on Hull City fans wanting to travel to a match in Huddersfield.
Internal emails, viewed by the Mail, show senior police officers were warned by their own legal team they risked being seen to be "acting irrationally" by imposing the sanctions on Tigers' fans, when football intelligence revealed "no reported issues".
Now, West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said the emails cast doubt over the decisions made by the force.
He said: "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 the address the concerns raised."
City supporters travelling to the match were ordered by the police to either catch an official coach from Hull, or rendezvous at an M62 service station, to be transported to the stadium by coach.
Police also restricted the number of tickets for City fans to 1,700, despite a capacity for away supporters of 4,000.
On Friday, the Mail saw internal West Yorkshire Police emails, which shows the force's own legal team voiced concern over the travel restrictions, branded "draconian" by fans.
In an email sent to Craig Guildford, the force's assistant chief constable, on February 28, a member of the force's own Legal Services team wrote: "There is a risk that a court would find that we have acted irrationally in agreeing to the Leeds vs Derby game with no restrictions (when Leeds have a far worse record for disorder than Huddersfield or Hull and when there is evidence of recent disorder between Leeds and Derby fans).
"Hull fans have not had any travel restrictions imposed on them for any other away game this season."
On February 11, Superintendent Ged McManus wrote to a member of Kirklees Operations Planning department: "I know this is short notice, but can we have a report ... in relation to the behaviour of Hull fans this season?"
The next day, Supt McManus received a reply, stating: "There were no reported issues. I have trawled through the reports for all the Hull away fixtures."
The police and crime commissioner for the West Yorkshire force said the emails raised "a number of issues for me".
Mr Burns-Williamson said: "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."
