Posted on 6th March 2026
Merseyside Police latest force to deploy facial recognition tech
Merseyside Police became the latest police force in England and Wales to deploy facial recognition technology, using it ahead of Manchester United’s visit to the Hill Dickinson stadium.
Live facial recognition was used by the force on crowds around the approaches to the Hill Dickinson Stadium at the end of last month.
Police claim it was used to identify people who were wanted for serious offences or court orders. No data has been released by the force about the arrest rate resulting from its deployment.
And this weekend Cumbria Police say they will be deploying the technology at Carlisle United’s game against Southend United.
Fans push back
In the past supporters have pushed back against the use of live facial recognition technology on football crowds – back in 2019 Cardiff City fans protested against its use in their South Wales derby against Swansea City.
South Wales’ use of facial recognition was challenged in the High Court, who ruled that it was unlawful.
The Court of Appeal ruling followed a legal challenge brought by Ed Bridges, 37, from Cardiff and supported by civil rights group Liberty.
The court upheld three of the five points raised in the appeal – it said there was no clear guidance on where facial recognition could be used and who could be put on a watchlist.
The court also found South Wales Police’s data protection impact assessment was deficient and the force did not take reasonable steps to find out if the software had a racial or gender bias.
Questions remain over the technology, how police use the data they gather, how they compile their lists of targets when scanning crowds, and its fallibility.
Police address privacy concerns
Merseyside Police said any fans not on a watch list would not have their biometric data stored, and once they passed through the facial recognition zone it would be immediately and automatically deleted.
Watchlist images are deleted within 24 hours of each deployment, the force claims.
The technology compares faces captured on a live camera feed against a list of people wanted for serious offences, subject to court orders, or who pose a risk to the public or to themselves, the force said.
FSA policy
At last summer’s AGM members approved a motion on facial recognition technology at the match: we oppose its use by clubs at the turnstiles.
The motion called for “an immediate freeze on facial recognition technology being used at turnstiles or inside stadia until further notice.”
Additionally, it commits the FSA to oppose the adoption of the technology until “transparent and meaningful dialogue has taken place at a national level with fans, leagues, the FA, civil rights groups and the Information Commissioner’s Office on its legality and privacy concerns.”
The motion was brought to our conference by Manchester City’s MCFC Fans Foodbank after their club installed facial recognition turnstiles last summer but at the time of writing had yet to use them on matchgoing supporters.
