A police oversight body has recommended the introduction of live facial recognition technology as a tool to curb disorder at football matches, reigniting a debate over surveillance, civil liberties and fan safety across the UK.
The technology, already used by some police forces in England and Wales, works by scanning faces captured on camera and converting them into a digital representation, which is then cross-checked against databases of individuals who are wanted or suspected of criminal activity. According to Professor Kay Ritchie, head of sociological and psychological sciences at Abertay University, the system does not store facial images directly but instead relies on this converted digital data for comparison purposes.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Ritchie defended the reliability of the technology, saying public understanding of its accuracy is often lacking. "Actually, the technology is extremely accurate and there are very few demographic differences at all," she said. She pointed to testing carried out by the National Physical Laboratory in London and the National Institute for Standards and Technology in the United States, which she said demonstrated the systems were becoming increasingly precise and outperformed human judgment in identifying faces.
Despite these assurances, the proposal faces resistance in Scotland, where facial recognition is rarely deployed compared with England and Wales, where mobile camera vans have been used and the Metropolitan Police has even trialled the technology inside tube stations. The Met reports that 2,100 arrests have resulted from its use of facial recognition since the beginning of 2024. Figures also show that more than three million faces passed before live facial recognition cameras last year, producing just 12 false alerts, none of which resulted in an arrest.
However, campaigners argue the technology carries serious risks. Big Brother Watch has previously described the number of innocent people wrongly flagged as suspects as "staggering" and pursued a legal challenge against the Met Police's use of the system, citing concerns over arbitrary and discriminatory application. That challenge was rejected by the courts earlier this year.
Amnesty International UK has taken an even stronger stance, calling for the technology to be abandoned altogether rather than expanded. A spokesperson for the organisation said facial recognition represents "a dangerous and discriminatory tool of surveillance that should be scrapped, not rolled out further across the UK," adding that its use in England and Wales had already produced "repeated cases of harassment and false arrest." The spokesperson warned that adopting the technology in Scotland would mark a significant and troubling change in how police interact with the public.
Fan groups have also voiced opposition. Paul Goodwin of the Scottish Football Supporters Association urged authorities to abandon what he called a "reckless proposal," arguing that resources would be better spent strengthening partnerships between police, clubs and local supporter organisations to build trust and improve safety through community engagement rather than surveillance.
Scotland's Justice Secretary, Neil Gray, indicated that any decision on deploying such technology would ultimately rest with the police themselves. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Breakfast programme, he said the government would support advances in crime detection provided they remained compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights, oversight from the biometrics commissioner, and other regulatory safeguards. Gray added that clubs and individual fans also have a responsibility to help improve conduct at matches.
Both the Scottish Professional Football League and the Scottish Football Association have been contacted for comment on the proposal, though neither had responded at the time of reporting.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.