For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, no fans supporting England or Wales wound up in the slammer. This is causing some soccer fans to wonder if hell has really frozen over.
BBC reports Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Police confirms that British soccer fans were angels during the championship games. “The behavior of England and Wales out in Qatar was absolutely exemplary,” he remarked, adding, “Throughout the home nations’ involvement in the tournament there were no arrests or incidents to report, which is a credit to all those who travelled.”
“Traditionally we do have few arrests of our fans at World Cups, but to have zero isn’t something we have seen before,” he said.
It should be noted that this was also the first World Cup where alcohol was not served in the arena because of Qatar’s laws and regulations.
Said Roberts, “It would be wrong to entirely attribute this excellent behavior to the restrictions on alcohol in Qatar, but I do think it has helped to some degree.”
England made it to the quarter-finals this year, but lost to France 2 to 1. France now heads to the final, set for this Sunday against Argentina.