League clubs call for fans to be able to drink while watchin

Football League clubs call for fans to be able to drink while watching matches as they bid to overturn 33-year-old rule


Wednesday 24th October 2018


Sunderland and Ipswich Town are among a number of sides spearheading a campaign to allow fans to consume alcohol from their stadium seats.

While supporters are allowed to consume alcohol inside the ground under current regulations, there is a ban on drinking it if you are in view of the pitch.

But Sunderland have claimed that the existing laws, that have been in place since 1985, are unfair on supporters.

Sunderland are among clubs calling for a lift on the alcohol ban from the stands at stadiums

The Black Cats are in favour of a pilot scheme, along with other sides including Ipswich Town, Doncaster Rovers, Accrington Stanley, Port Vale, Forest Green Rovers, Lincoln City, Tranmere Rovers and Northampton Town.

'At the Stadium of Light, concert-goers can watch Kings of Leon whilst enjoying a pint, but cannot when watching their football team, a Sunderland spokesperson told talkSPORT. 'This seems discriminatory to football fans.'

Grimsby Town, Newport County and Gillingham are among other sides interested in discussing the issue which has also received support from Liverpool podcast The Anfield Wrap.

For years alcohol was deemed as a contributor to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 that killed 96 Liverpool fans.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel cleared Liverpool fans and alcohol from any blame of the Hillsborough disaster that killed 96 people in 1989.



But in 2012, the Hillsborough Independent Panel report revealed that alcohol played no part in the tragedy and that supporters had been wrongly blamed.

'After everything we now know about the slurs and lies told over the Hillsborough disaster it is ridiculous that football fans are still stigmatised as essentially a feral underclass,' the Anfield Wrap told talkSPORT.

'How is it that the same person could sit in the same seat only a few days apart, one for a rugby match and then for a football match and have a drink at one and not the other?'





SPORTING EVENTS (CONTROL OF ALCOHOL) ACT 1985

A person who has alcohol at any time during the period of a designated sporting event when he is in any area of a designated sports ground from which the event may be directly viewed.

The Football Supporters Federation argue that the laws are now not just outdated but were also ill-thought out and that it was time to treat football fans with more respect.

'When the laws were drafted they were a knee-jerk reaction to problems at the time,' FSF Caseworker Amanda Jacks said.

'Nobody thought them through properly and certainly didn't foresee that in 2018 we would be talking about football fans being singled out from the rest of society.'


The stance on drinking at football matches has softened recently, with UEFA relaxing their laws of an alcohol ban inside grounds for games played in their competitions, including the Champions League and Europa League.

However despite the wide and growing support, the Home Office have shown no interest in following such moves.

A Home Office spokesperson added that football has 'unique public order risks', going on to say 'many incidents of football-related disorder are spontaneous, involving offenders who have consumed alcohol, often to excess. We are satisfied that existing legislation is necessary and appropriate.'

Liverpool fans enjoy a drink before the Champions League final in May. UEFA have since lifted their stadium ban on alcohol from their matches

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Shows what idiots there are at home office as he thinks drinking inside the bowl can lead to public disorder due to drink? Yet those same fans can get drunk under the stand and then go inside bowl!!

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Agree it's an absolute pain at rugby up down in way all time plus getting beer spilt on you, no thanks

Shows what idiots there are at home office as he thinks drinking inside the bowl can lead to public disorder due to drink? Yet those same fans can get drunk under the stand and then go inside bowl!!

Not really you’d get more pissed if you bought four pints before the game to take to your seat then the one or two you have before the game an the one at half time.

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Agree it's an absolute pain at rugby up down in way all time plus getting beer spilt on you, no thanks

If you close the bars during play then that could work. Just allow people to take a pint to their seat at the start of each half.

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Agree it's an absolute pain at rugby up down in way all time plus getting beer spilt on you, no thanks

If you close the bars during play then that could work. Just allow people to take a pint to their seat at the start of each half.

It wouldn’t work because buying a pint at half time would be a bigger nightmare then it is now

It does seem very out dated and discriminatory given that other sports and events are able to watch from the stands whilst enjoying an alcoholic beverage. Just because it’s been the rule to date, doesn’t mean it’s correct and I’m all up for changing with the times.

I may have read it wrongly, but isn’t it illegal to consume alcohol on a coach or minibus whilst on route to a football (but not any other sport) event as well? If so, that’s a disgrace.

Should be allowed, but at the same time I can’t see this law changing anytime soon.

It does seem very out dated and discriminatory given that other sports and events are able to watch from the stands whilst enjoying an alcoholic beverage. Just because it’s been the rule to date, doesn’t mean it’s correct and I’m all up for changing with the times.

I may have read it wrongly, but isn’t it illegal to consume alcohol on a coach or minibus whilst on route to a football (but not any other sport) event as well? If so, that’s a disgrace.

I...think....that law applies to all sporting events but someone forgot to tell the police that its not only football..
its ridiculous that you can stop in numerous pubs en route or arrive hours before a game and get tanked but can not crack a can on the bus/train....

It does seem very out dated and discriminatory given that other sports and events are able to watch from the stands whilst enjoying an alcoholic beverage. Just because it’s been the rule to date, doesn’t mean it’s correct and I’m all up for changing with the times.

I may have read it wrongly, but isn’t it illegal to consume alcohol on a coach or minibus whilst on route to a football (but not any other sport) event as well? If so, that’s a disgrace.

I...think....that law applies to all sporting events but someone forgot to tell the police that its not only football..
its ridiculous that you can stop in numerous pubs en route or arrive hours before a game and get tanked but can not crack a can on the bus/train....

You are right with the all sporting events on coaches/buses etc...I don't think they can stop you on a train though!

Don't like this idea at all. Blokes up and down all the time, going for another pint or another slash. Blocking people's view of the game. A lot of football fans wear decent clobber, so getting soaked in booze won't go down well. Besides, a half only lasts 45 minutes.

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

All about money for them.

I'm 100% against it. Went to a rugby game once and although I didn't care one bit for the game I don't know how people managed to watch the game people up and down. Felt like I was in a constant disjointed Mexican wave.

Can you imagine the scenes in The Canton when we score there would be beer going everywhere!

It does seem very out dated and discriminatory given that other sports and events are able to watch from the stands whilst enjoying an alcoholic beverage. Just because it’s been the rule to date, doesn’t mean it’s correct and I’m all up for changing with the times.

I may have read it wrongly, but isn’t it illegal to consume alcohol on a coach or minibus whilst on route to a football (but not any other sport) event as well? If so, that’s a disgrace.

I...think....that law applies to all sporting events but someone forgot to tell the police that its not only football..
its ridiculous that you can stop in numerous pubs en route or arrive hours before a game and get tanked but can not crack a can on the bus/train....

You are right with the all sporting events on coaches/buses etc...I don't think they can stop you on a train though!

trains fall into it and I have been on dry trains..police more often than not let it slide though.

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Agree it's an absolute pain at rugby up down in way all time plus getting beer spilt on you, no thanks

If you close the bars during play then that could work. Just allow people to take a pint to their seat at the start of each half.

Tbh that's not worth it after all there are enough tv's for fans to see game under stands while getting drink! But as been pointed out drink gets spilt with excitement ect not pleasant for those under the beer!

On the plus side if we were allowed to bring our own cans in they'd have to do something about the overpriced swill they serve now.

LLANGAINBLUEBIRD
You said a half only lasts 45 mins bloody slow drinker, seriously drinks getting kicked every where, or like in the fans zone up in the air thrown over everybody when there' s a goal no thanks

I don't drink myself, but it's a sad reflection on our dumbed down infantilised society that this even arises.
It's remarkable that people will now behave like unsupervised schoolchildren if allowed to take a drink during the game , and that anyone in what used to be a very civilised society would accept the idea of being told by the nanny state when they can and can't consume a legal product which they paid for themselves.
On the other hand, in the real world as we now know it, I suppose it would soon lead to chaos if some of the utter morons we see at football matches had this basic and obvious freedom.
Same reason for gun control I suppose, but it says more about the plummeting levels of education and morality than it does about the rights and wrongs of the question.

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Three bars in the grandstand at Ninian Park alone Two were for hospitality thou We May have had one in the Canton stand when they put those boxes in as well . The main bar was always packed

What's puzzling is radio pundits argument against it is the fans causing trouble because they can drink inside bowl? Which is daft considering fans can drink before entering stadium and during games under stands! So having drink inside bowl as got nothing to do with unruly fans.

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Agree it's an absolute pain at rugby up down in way all time plus getting beer spilt on you, no thanks

If you close the bars during play then that could work. Just allow people to take a pint to their seat at the start of each half.

Great idea. And if they're worried about people getting too smashed then limit the purchases per person.

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Three bars in the grandstand at Ninian Park alone Two were for hospitality thou We May have had one in the Canton stand when they put those boxes in as well . The main bar was always packed

was talking about your normal fans not the suited up prawn sandwich mob in the grand stand..
3 in the grandstand alone suggests others......there were none...as for the Canton......where?

football for the ordinary fan was an alcohol free environment home and away..

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Three bars in the grandstand at Ninian Park alone Two were for hospitality thou We May have had one in the Canton stand when they put those boxes in as well . The main bar was always packed

was talking about your normal fans not the suited up prawn sandwich mob in the grand stand..
3 in the grandstand alone suggests others......there were none...as for the Canton......where?

football for the ordinary fan was an alcohol free environment home and away..

You obviously never went into the Grandstand at Ninian Park. Hardly what you call the prawn sandwich brigade, especially at either end.

Thankfully I doubt that the government will ever permit drinking in the stands - for all the reasons given by others. I don't want the experience of watching Cardiff City to become like it is at the Principality Stadium, which is dreadful. I feel sorry for anyone who can't manage without a drink for 45 minutes. I don't care what the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich and Newport want or do. I only care about City. It is interesting that the big clubs don't appear to be pushing for this.

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Three bars in the grandstand at Ninian Park alone Two were for hospitality thou We May have had one in the Canton stand when they put those boxes in as well . The main bar was always packed

was talking about your normal fans not the suited up prawn sandwich mob in the grand stand..
3 in the grandstand alone suggests others......there were none...as for the Canton......where?

football for the ordinary fan was an alcohol free environment home and away..

You obviously never went into the Grandstand at Ninian Park. Hardly what you call the prawn sandwich brigade, especially at either end.

Thankfully I doubt that the government will ever permit drinking in the stands - for all the reasons given by others. I don't want the experience of watching Cardiff City to become like it is at the Principality Stadium, which is dreadful. I feel sorry for anyone who can't manage without a drink for 45 minutes. I don't care what the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich and Newport want or do. I only care about City. It is interesting that the big clubs don't appear to be pushing for this.

yes A block did become popular with trendies in its later years but in the main either end of that stand were empty with ST holders { mostly well to do business types in the middle } try you tube there are litterally hundreds of clips of games with A block deserted..
and there were zero bars on or behind any of our terracing when Maggie got in power...you were lucky to get a 3 day old pie and a bovril.

Didn’t Maggie bring this in? It’s out of touch now, needs to be managed properly but I agree time for change.

tbh mate I don't remember a bar in our ground or at most grounds pre Maggie....booze wasn't part of being at football it was for before and after the game....im all for drinking on concourse but totally against being drenched in booze at every time we score and at every away game..

Three bars in the grandstand at Ninian Park alone Two were for hospitality thou We May have had one in the Canton stand when they put those boxes in as well . The main bar was always packed

was talking about your normal fans not the suited up prawn sandwich mob in the grand stand..
3 in the grandstand alone suggests others......there were none...as for the Canton......where?

football for the ordinary fan was an alcohol free environment home and away..

You obviously never went into the Grandstand at Ninian Park. Hardly what you call the prawn sandwich brigade, especially at either end.

Thankfully I doubt that the government will ever permit drinking in the stands - for all the reasons given by others. I don't want the experience of watching Cardiff City to become like it is at the Principality Stadium, which is dreadful. I feel sorry for anyone who can't manage without a drink for 45 minutes. I don't care what the likes of Sunderland, Ipswich and Newport want or do. I only care about City. It is interesting that the big clubs don't appear to be pushing for this.

yes A block did become popular with trendies in its later years but in the main either end of that stand were empty with ST holders { mostly well to do business types in the middle } try you tube there are litterally hundreds of clips of games with A block deserted..
and there were zero bars on or behind any of our terracing when Maggie got in power...you were lucky to get a 3 day old pie and a bovril.

I was a Grandstand Block A prawn sandwich tw*t...

Let's hope it never happens. It might work in grounds that still have terraces, but not in all-seater stadiums.

Agree it's an absolute pain at rugby up down in way all time plus getting beer spilt on you, no thanks

If you close the bars during play then that could work. Just allow people to take a pint to their seat at the start of each half.

Wouldn’t be long before a few idiots were throwing drinks at the players/officials.