Andy Burnham has long argued that the law preventing football supporters from drinking alcohol in view of the pitch is outdated, and when the question came up during his trip to the United Nations in New York the Prime Minister was happy to restate the position. “I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination,” said Burnham, an Everton supporter who feels football fans are singled out compared with spectators at other sports and events.
There is no suggestion this is about to become official government policy. Last year MPs rejected a Conservative amendment to the Football Governance Bill that would have forced ministers to launch a formal consultation on scrapping the rule — though that was before Burnham returned to Downing Street. The issue is complicated and divisive, and it is about more than safety alone: do match-going supporters actually want the change?
Drinking alcohol at football grounds in England and Wales has been strictly controlled since the Sporting Events Control of Alcohol Act was introduced in 1985, brought in to counter escalating hooliganism through the 1970s and into the 1980s. The ban affects clubs from the Premier League down to the National League. Beer can be sold, but it must be consumed in areas that do not have a view of the pitch. Supporters of teams in the National League North and South and below, however, are permitted to drink alcohol around the pitch.
The rules are stricter in Scotland, where a law in place since 1981 means alcohol is available only in hospitality areas and not to other fans. It was initially imposed following a riot during the 1980 Scottish Cup final between Rangers and Celtic at Hampden. Attitudes have been shifting in recent seasons, though. The ban was lifted as part of a pilot scheme last year, with several Scottish clubs selling alcohol in clearly defined, monitored areas of the stadium. It began with lower-level clubs before being extended to the Premiership, and the Scotland national team joined the trial for the friendlies against Japan and Curacao earlier this year. It has since been extended to the games against Switzerland on 29 September and Slovenia next month.
In England, the Women’s Super League has just completed two seasons of successful trials, and the rule preventing drinking in the stands has now been removed by the league’s governing company, WSL Football. The women’s game is not governed by the Sporting Events Control of Alcohol Act, which allows the competition organiser to make the change itself.
Within English football’s corridors of power, opinion is still forming. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in August that the competition had not “got a specific view” and that “we’d need to give it some really careful thought”. The English Football League, by contrast, issued a statement on Thursday saying it would be “receptive to discussions around reviewing the current legislation”. It added that member clubs had already provided “a mandate to lobby for appropriate reform”, which had “not kept pace with significant developments in stadium management, safety and stewarding”.
The Football Supporters’ Association has for some time backed changing the law and, like the Prime Minister, considers it unfair on football fans. “I think it is outdated,” FSA chairman Tom Greatrex told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “If you go to watch football in Germany or in other places around the world, then it’s perfectly acceptable. It is civilised and appropriate. There’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case for football fans, as it is for fans of rugby league, watching Oasis, or anything else that happens often in the same stadiums in the same seats.” The FSA’s position is that clubs should have the choice, in consultation with supporters, to sell alcohol — some might offer it in all stands, others in designated areas, and a few might choose not to do so at all. Other sports offer designated alcohol-free sections, something football clubs may wish to copy for families and for supporters who do not drink for religious reasons. The FSA accepts that, but believes having the option to make such decisions matters. It also believes relaxing the law would be more popular the further down the leagues you go, where alcohol sales could provide a crucial additional income stream.
The UK Football Policing Unit rejected the suggestion, arguing alcohol plays “a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour” and that “other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour” that football does. Greatrex points to the police’s previous opposition to safe standing as evidence they are not open to ideas. Before safe standing was introduced four years ago, Mark Roberts, the national lead for football policing since 2014, told the BBC it would make it “easier to throw missiles, engage in hate chanting, racism, sneak alcohol in, take cocaine”. “[The police] were telling everybody that we couldn’t have standing at football again, that it would jeopardise safety,” Greatrex said. “Actually, what we saw then was a controlled, managed pilot projects to get that re-established. There hasn’t been the level of disorder that some of the police sources were saying there would be. I think the police should have more of an open mind and engage in this in a sensible and mature way.”
For many match-going fans, however, the prospect of beer being thrown and potential anti-social behaviour outweighs the chance to watch a game with a pint. Dave, a Chelsea supporter from Twickenham, told Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live he was “100% against it”. “Have a look at some of the footage you see on social media at Boxpark, for instance. A goal goes in and there is beer and lager thrown everywhere,” he said. “I don’t want to go round stinking of other people’s beer and there is a fashion among certain supporters to throw their beer everywhere. If people can’t go without drink for a 45-minute period there is something the matter with them.” Adrian, from Leicester, called it the “worst idea you could come up with”, adding: “There is enough trouble with other things in football, with the flares, drug taking and other things. You throw the alcohol in as well. Football is tribal whereas other sports they aren’t.” Ryan, a Wolves fan in Banbury, took a middle path, suggesting “a solution that suits everybody” is to provide designated areas for drinking in the stands.
Football is the only sport in the UK that faces restrictions on alcohol consumption. Some other sports have issues with alcohol-related and anti-social behaviour, but none carries football’s reputation. The restrictions differ across Europe. There is a strict ban in the top two divisions of Spanish football, where only alcohol-free beer can be sold outside hospitality areas — though it can be taken to seats. In the German Bundesliga there is no ban on drinking at your seat, and the approach is relaxed enough that bottles of beer are sold from shopping trolleys outside grounds. Serie A in Italy is similarly relaxed, with a limit of 5% ABV, although sales are suspended in and around the stadium for some games designated “high risk”. In France, the Evin Law introduced in 1991 is broadly in line with Scotland as far as football is concerned: alcohol cannot be sold at any sports event other than in VIP areas.