Alcohol in UK stadia stands bit of a handful?

Article posted by Coliseum, September 30^th, 2021

Image: UCFB

The UK’s football policing lead, chief constable Mark Roberts, says it would be “irresponsible to fuel” football’s problem with disorder by allowing alcohol to be consumed in the stands.

‘The Guardian’ stated that Tracey Crouch, MP, a former Sports Minister, will recommend a pilot in League Two and the National League’s top division as part of her fan-led review of football governance, which is due to be published in October.

Drinking in sight of the pitch has been banned in the top five tiers of the game since 1985, although it is allowed at cricket, rugby, horse racing, and darts. Roberts says adding alcohol would contribute to growing disorder in the sport and pointed to the scenes at the Euro 2020 Final at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London (UK) where fans had run amok creating unruly scenes.

Added Roberts, “Unfortunately, we have seen that alcohol often plays a significant part in violent and disorderly behavior at football. Anyone who frequents the night-time economy will know that unfortunately the United Kingdom often has an unhealthy relationship with drink and drugs, and so whilst this isn’t a problem unique to football there is a clear correlation in and around football between alcohol and poor behavior.”

He continued, “Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behavior from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, but we have seen growing concerns in cricket, horse racing and rugby around alcohol and behavior which have led to some venues taking counter-measures. Since the Euro 2020 Final and the return of fans to stadiums we have seen concerning levels of disorder at matches. Sadly, this builds on disorder witnessed over recent seasons. In particular, we have seen assaults on stewards and hate crime and it would be irresponsible to fuel this by allowing greater alcohol consumption during games.”

Stated a concerned Robert, “I would welcome contact from Tracey Crouch, MP, so we can discuss her views and again explain the challenges these proposed changes would bring to policing and safety staff at football. Given the events at Wembley – and anyone who saw the crowds outside the venue will know the role alcohol played – the current difficulties in sourcing sufficient numbers of trained stewards, the increase in disorder and the ongoing concerns about hate crime in football, I am incredulous that anyone would suggest adding more alcohol into the mix.”

‘The Guardian’ further stated that Crouch, the Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford in Kent, believes the current rules encourage binge-drinking and are part of the problem – “Our view on alcohol and football is outdated. It’s not helped when you see scenes like we did at Wembley. But that’s why I would pilot it first. We kettle people into drinking quickly at half-time. And that is the unhealthy aspect of the football fan’s relationship with alcohol. They drink a lot in a short space of time.”

Crouch explained that lifting the ban on alcohol could be key to helping secure the financial future of clubs lower down the leagues. Drinking is permitted in non-league football below the National League’s top tier, with the loss of revenue potentially affecting clubs who earn promotion.

Added Crouch, “Take a club like Dulwich Hamlet, which is in National League South. Its revenue is generated through its refreshments. If it gets promoted to the National League Premier, it effectively stops generating that revenue during a game. They said openly in evidence to us that they cannot afford to get promoted because of the rules around alcohol. Lots of clubs generate a lot of their income through their bars and I think it’s time to look at this issue again. We do have this bizarre situation where you can go to Headingley (the 18,350-capacity Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds, England) and drink as a cricket fan, but go to Elland Road (the 37,792-capacity football stadium in West Yorkshire, England) and you can’t drink as a football fan.”

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