Revealed: The staggering £250,000 police bill for the return of Portsmouth v Southampton

Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has revealed to The News that budgeting decisions have already been reached in preparation for Pompey and Southampton sharing a division for the first time in 13 years.

A figure of £125,000 has been set aside to police each of the fierce rivals’ two scheduled meetings in the 2025-26 season, which kicks off in August.

According to Jones, that represents more than 10 times the usual cost of policing Hampshire-based matches at Championship level.

However, she insists Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police are committed to ensuring supporters attending the eagerly-awaited south-coast derbies are kept safe.

Jones told The News: ‘I am going to put aside about £250,000 to pay for it.

‘The police have been planning for the eventuality of Southampton going down and Portsmouth staying up for several months, so the football policing unit have got the preparations pretty much there. We have very experienced public order policing commanders in place, who policed the last game in 2019.

‘There is an historic rivalry between these two teams, it is well-known nationally and therefore it is right and proper that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary are planning ahead as the public would expect them to do.

‘Although I am hopeful that the budget I have set aside won’t be needed and it will be far cheaper than that.

‘With policing football matches, there is a cost recovery mechanism in place, whereby the police can re-charge the football club for the cost of policing the game in the ground and the areas surrounding football stadiums which are owned by the football club.

‘For example, at Southampton they own that massive forecourt area at the front of the stadium and both car parks. At Pompey you have the side behind the Victory Lounge and then all of the North Stand car park.

‘However, Frogmore Road and Goldsmith Avenue are clearly not owned by the club - and it’s not the club’s responsibility to police the public highway.

‘So the cost recovery can only be charged for the police officers that are on either Portsmouth Football Club and/or Southampton Football Club premises. Considering the nature of the geography around Fratton Park particularly, we know that, historically, issues are on the public highway, roads, pavements, pubs, etc, in the surrounding area.

‘That cost will have to be covered by me as Police and Crime Commissioner - and not by the football club themselves.

‘Normally, you would probably be talking £10-15,000 per game. However, the south-coast derby will require a substantially higher number of police officers, while potentially other police assets which will be on stand-by as well. So we are looking at £125,000 per game.

‘On the day we will have overtime police officers who are experienced public order police officers with specialist training, particularly for violence and disorder around football stadiums and with football teams. There could be other specialist policing units drafted in as and when recruited.

‘But, with good planning and good work with the supporters' associations and the police, I am really optimistic the Pompey/Southampton games in the 2025-26 football season will go without any unrest and supporters can come along, enjoy the game and enjoy some old-fashioned south coast rivalry on the pitch, but not off it.’

Seven men jailed for total of 12 years

Pompey and Southampton last met in the Carabao Cup, when Southampton won 4-0 at Fratton Park in September 2019.

During scenes outside the ground, missiles were thrown at fans and officers during ‘large scale disorder’, which included a police horse being punched twice by a Pompey fan.

Subsequently, a total of seven men were jailed for a combined total of 12 years.

Supporters will learn the dates of the next season’s south-coast derby on June 26, when 2025-26 Championship fixtures are announced.

Jones added: ‘Each year, the income I receive from policing services comes in two parts. One is from local taxation, such as council tax bills, and that is about 49 per cent of our income.

‘Then 51 per cent of our income comes from the Home Office with the local police and formula grant, which is a formulaic basis of how many cities you’ve got, your population, your crime levels. Things like football clubs playing at that level are also part of that formula.

‘So we do get a bit of money, but it won’t be anywhere near the level required, unfortunately,

‘I’m concerned about the money because it could always be spent on other things, such as local bobbies and responding to burglaries and shoplifting, but the police is a public service, part of their job is keeping people safe when going in, out and during football matches.’

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