Burnham calls for end to alcohol ban in football stands

Summarised from 10 outlets · 28 reports · Updated 25 Sept, 16:34 · Archive

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says the ban on alcohol in football stands is discriminatory and should be scrapped.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for the repeal of a ban on alcohol in football stands, in place since the 1980s, describing it as discriminatory. He argues that football fans are unfairly singled out compared to supporters of rugby and cricket. The ban covers the top five tiers of English football. The proposal has divided opinion, with some supporters welcoming the change and others warning it could harm the matchday experience or revive problems from football's violent past. A club owner has warned that allowing drinking would be 'short-sighted' and risks 'sending football back to the depths of the 80s'.

How it is being reported

• Voices: ‘Crowds are abusive enough sober’: Readers split over Burnham’s call to lift football stands alcohol banOur community weighed fairness to fans against the safety of women, with some pointing to drinking at rugby and cricket and others to football’s long history of hooliganismThe Independent · 25 Sept, 15:12
• I love a drink in the stands, but Burnham’s beer proposal feels out of step with modern football | Marva KreelFocusing on the right to drink at your seat is an odd place to start when discrimination in the game runs much deeper Andy Burnham is right that football fans have historically been treated differently from other sports fans. But if we’re going to talk about discrimination in football, the ban on drinking at your seat feels like a strange place to start. The rule may have its roots in a very different era of football, but for many fans today, being able to take a pint to your seat may not be top of their list of changes they’d like to see in the game. Especially at a time when discrimination…The Guardian · 25 Sept, 15:00
• Football fans send clear message to Andy Burnham over football drink ban plansPrime Minister Andy Burnham has hinted at a plan to lift the current ban on fans drinking in their seats at football matches - but the prospect of pints in the stands has split opinionThe Mirror · 25 Sept, 12:58
• Andy Burnham's plan to scrap drinking ban could throw lower league football clubs a survival lifelineEXCLUSIVE: The decades-long ban on football fans drinking alcohol in the stands could be lifted by Prime Minister Andy Burnham - and it may help keep lower league clubs aliveThe Mirror · 25 Sept, 09:11
• UK Football Police Unit accused of ‘bringing Hillsborough’ into alcohol debateA spokesperson for the UK Football Policing Unit ‘it was not our intention to link the issue of alcohol with the Hillsborough tragedy’Independent Sport · 25 Sept, 08:07
• Simon Jordan accuses Andy Burnham of using sport 'for political gain’ as PM seeks to end ‘outdated’ football beer banSimon Jordan has accused Andy Burnham of “leveraging sport for political gain” as the Prime Minister seeks to overturn a ban on alcohol in football stands. Speaking to GB News, the former Crystal Palace owner and broadcaster described the plans as “populist politics”. Mr Burnham is seeking to overturn the ban , which covers the top five tiers of English football, from the Premier League down to the National League and was enacted to tackle football hooliganism. “I don't think it is fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” the Prime Minister and keen Everton fan said in New…GB News · 24 Sept, 20:34
• Alcohol in the stands would spoil football | Brief lettersAndy Burnham’s own goal | Investigating failure | Hedgehog-flavoured crisps | Crisp festival | Sitting prone Before legislating to permit alcoholic drinks to be consumed in the stands at football ( Report, 23 September ), Andy Burnham should attend a rugby international. He will find that his view of the match is constantly interrupted by spectators coming and going to replenish their supplies and/or empty their bladders. Be careful what you wish for, Andy. Robert Lee Hampton, London • So a parliamentary committee is to investigate the UK’s performance at the Eurovision song contest (…The Guardian · 24 Sept, 18:02
• UK Football Police Unit accused of ‘bringing Hillsborough’ into alcohol debateUKFPU cites post-Hillsborough Taylor Report in backing ban ‘The disaster was not caused by alcohol. Full stop’ English football’s leading fans’ group has criticised the UK Football Policing Unit for “bringing Hillsborough into the debate” around drinking in sight of the pitch. Talk of changing the law to allow fans to drink at their seat or in the stands has resurfaced after Andy Burnham, the prime minister, said the rules were outdated and discriminatory and should be scrapped . Continue reading...The Guardian · 24 Sept, 17:43
• Andy Burnham's football booze plot risks spoiling the experience for everybody - and if one person gets hurt, it will have been a failure, writes LUKE POWERIf Andy Burnham seriously wants to reintroduce alcohol into the stands at the football, he should first be showered with Carlsberg by a rowdy gang of revellers.Daily Mail Sport · 24 Sept, 17:31
• U.K. prime minister teases possible return of booze to soccer matchesBritish leader and soccer fan Andy Burnham told reporters a four-decade ban on alcohol in stadium bleachers at men's games is "discrimination."CBS News · 24 Sept, 17:27
• Football and pints are brilliant – Burnham’s plan to lift booze bans at games isn’tBut chiefly, it would just be downright annoying.Metro · 24 Sept, 16:42
• Football Daily | Pints and points: the arguments for and against booze at football matchesSign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Considering he is a lifelong Everton fan, it’s no surprise that Andy Burnham seems to be in favour of allowing fans to drink Tin at football matches . Bouts of boardroom turmoil, points deductions and assorted relegation battles mean the lot of an Evertonian is not always a happy one. The Prime Minister believes that if he and other fans fancy a sip or two to help ease the pain of watching Thierno Barry head wide of an open goal, then that ought to be their constitutional right as proud Englishmen. Sadly, no such right currently exists, as…The Guardian · 24 Sept, 16:08
• Drinking at football matches - would fans welcome it?Andy Burnham has long championed a repeal of the ban which prevents football supporters from drinking alcohol in the view of the pitch. But do fans even want it?BBC News · 24 Sept, 15:09
• Andy Burnham's football booze vow splits opinion as fans disagree on drinking in standsPrime Minister Andy Burnham has suggested legislation which prevents football fans from drinking in the stands in England could be overturnedMirror Sport · 24 Sept, 14:41
• Archive, 1985: Alcohol banned from football grounds in England and WalesThe violence at the Luton Town v Millwall FA Cup match in 1985, along with the Heysel Stadium disaster, saw the Thatcher government enact new laws UK prime minister, Andy Burnham has spoken out about football fans facing “discrimination” because they cannot drink alcohol in the stands, signalling that he may change the law. The ban was hastily introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1985 to crack down on football violence, which had blighted the domestic and national games for several decades. Excessive alcohol consumption was seen by the authorities as a significant factor in…The Guardian · 24 Sept, 13:32
• Fans drinking alcohol risks sending football back to 1980s, club owner warnsAllowing supporters to drink alcohol on the terraces would be “short-sighted” and “send football back to the depths of the ‘80s”, Andy Burnham has been warned. The Prime Minister has said he wants to end the “discrimination” against football fans, who are banned from drinking pitchside when fans of rugby and cricket are permitted to. [...]City AM · 24 Sept, 10:47
• 'Unfair' ban on drinking alcohol in football stands could be scrapped, says BurnhamA ban on football supporters drinking alcohol in the stands is discriminatory, unfair and should be scrapped, the prime minister has said.Sky News · 24 Sept, 07:52
• Mirror readers debate whether government should lift ban on football fans drinking in the standsA 40-year ban on drinking alcohol in the stands on matchdays could soon be lifted after Andy Burnham argued football fans are unfairly 'singled out' compared to other sportsThe Mirror · 24 Sept, 07:17
• Should football fans be allowed to drink alcohol in the stands?Football fans have not been allowed to drink in the stands for decades but Prime Minister Andy Burnham is in favour of changing the lawMirror Sport · 24 Sept, 06:36
• Drinking ban at football matches could be scrapped, says Prime MinisterPrime Minister Andy Burnham wants to see beer return to football stands.Sky Sports Football · 23 Sept, 23:20
• Burnham wants ‘discriminatory’ alcohol ban in stands at football matches to be overturnedThe Prime Minister said it was unfair for football fans to be singled out when supporters of other sports were able to drink while watching their teamsThe Independent · 23 Sept, 23:00
• Drinking ban at football matches could be scrapped, says Prime MinisterPrime Minister Andy Burnham still wants to see beer return to football stands.Sky Sports · 23 Sept, 23:00
• 'Andy Burnham's right to say football booze ban is unfair - but a sober debate is needed'There are now two generations separating today's younger fans with the violence that marred the sport in the 70s and 80s. But it's not as simple as letting supporters off the naughty step after 40 yearsThe Mirror · 23 Sept, 22:15
• 'Let football fans have a pint — it’s time to scrap this outdated drinking in stands ban'Football's long-standing alcohol restrictions could be costing lower-league clubs thousands of pounds every year, adding another layer to the debate over whether supporters should be allowed to enjoy a pint while watching their teamThe Mirror · 23 Sept, 22:14
• Burnham finally comes up with a policy... to lift the booze ban on football terracesThe Prime Minister said it was time to end the 'discrimination' against football fans, in which they are banned from drinking alcohol in the stands.Daily Mail · 23 Sept, 22:13
• Andy Burnham hints 'unfair' ban on football fans drinking in stands could be liftedPrime Minister Andy Burnham, a staunch Everton fan, said it was unfair that football supporters can’t enjoy a match-day pint in the stands like rugby or cricket fansThe Mirror · 23 Sept, 22:02
• Burnham brands ban on football fans drinking alcohol in stands as 'discrimination'The prime minister opposes the law - in place since 1985 - and believes there is a case to remove it.BBC News · 23 Sept, 22:01
• Andy Burnham signals he may lift ban on alcohol in football standsPrime minister says measure is discriminatory when fans of other sports are not similarly restricted Andy Burnham has signalled he may lift the ban on drinking alcohol in the stands at football matches, suggesting it is “unfair” for fans to be singled out when it is permitted for other sports. The prime minister, a committed Everton fan who still attends matches, said there was a case for trialling an end to the ban to bring football in line with rugby and cricket. Continue reading...The Guardian · 23 Sept, 22:00

In this story: Andy Burnham · England · Premier League · National League · Everton · UK Football Policing Unit

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