Majority of football fans against drinking alcohol in stands - new poll

Most football fans in the UK would prefer to retain the ban on drinking alcohol in the stands, believing that reversing the restriction would make the match-day experience worse.

This week the prime minister Andy Burnham said it was time to review the ban, which has been in place since 1985 and restricts fans to drinking in stadium concourses but not within sight of the pitch in the top five tiers of men’s football. He described it as a form of “discrimination” when the curbs do not apply to supporters of other sports such as rugby and cricket.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) welcomed Burnham’s comments but the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) challenged his view, insisting it would be “irresponsible” to allow “greater alcohol consumption during games”.

Now a YouGov poll of 6,091 adults has taken the view of match-going fans. It found that 64 per cent of Britons who have attended a game believe the ban on drinking alcohol at seats should remain in place, with only 26 per cent saying they would like to see it lifted. Separately, the “most regular match-goers” support the ban by 63 per cent to 35 per cent.

“Indeed, 53 per cent of at least one-time match-goers believe that fans being allowed to drink alcohol in view of the pitch would make the match-day experience worse, relative to 17 per cent feeling it would make no difference and 20 per cent thinking it would improve the experience,” states YouGov.

“Regular match-goers are a little less negative on this, with 33 per cent believing game day would be improved by allowing drinking in the stands, though a greater 41 per cent feel their experience would be made worse by such a change.”

Meanwhile fans’ leaders and a Liverpool MP have criticised the UKFPU for “bringing Hillsborough into the debate” around drinking in the stands of football stadiums.

The police unit said that it would be “irresponsible” to change the law and cited the Taylor report produced after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 97 spectators died. The FSA responded to the UKFPU, saying: “Arguably the most important point is that the UK Football Policing Unit’s comments bringing Hillsborough into this debate have to be corrected. The disaster was not caused by alcohol. Full stop.”

Referring to the jury’s verdict at the inquest in 2016 that vindicated the bereaved families, the FSA added: “Fans were ‘unlawfully killed and a catalogue of failings by police and the ambulance services contributed to their deaths.’ ”

Ian Byrne, the MP for Liverpool West Derby, called the UKFPU’s response an “appalling statement”.

Jay McKenna, the chairman of the Liverpool Supporters Board, said: “This is low, even by the standards of the UK Football Policing Unit, casually linking the Taylor report post-Hillsborough and football tragedies to changes in the law on drinking at matches. Drinking in view of the pitch didn’t cause deaths or injuries — policing failures did.”

McKenna pointed out that Lord Justice Taylor had said in his report that he hoped “in halcyon days ahead, a better atmosphere at football grounds may justify bans being relaxed”.

The UKFPU statement had said: “Following a number of football-related tragedies, changes in legislation were implemented after the Taylor Report for good reason and we are currently in the longest ever period without a significant football-related disaster.”

A spokesperson for the UKFPU said: “It was not our intention to link the issue of alcohol with the Hillsborough tragedy. The laws around alcohol, which we acknowledge were first introduced in 1985, are one of a range of measures in addition to the subsequent Taylor report recommendations that have contributed to making football much safer for fans in this country.”

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