Daniel Storey writes on the issue of alcohol in grounds – does the ban on drinking within view of the pitch make sense in the context of the modern game?
Showing articles from the category Casework
Clear filterDaniel Storey writes on the issue of alcohol in grounds – does the ban on drinking within view of the pitch make sense in the context of the modern game?
Football Supporters’ Federation statement on proposed ticket restrictions for the Brighton and Hove Albion-Crystal Palace play-off semi-finals:
The decision by the Metropolitan Police, Sussex Police and the two clubs involved to impose restrictions above and beyond normal ticketing procedures, should they meet in the play-offs, appears to have been done without any consultation with fans’ groups.
Alison Gurden, is a lawyer specialising in football supporter law. She was awarded Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year 2012, and has been recognised by the American Civil Liberties Union for her criminal defence work. It took a judge less than 10 minutes to agree that bail conditions imposed by the police which meant a fan could not leave his home on match days were so unreasonable they should never have been imposed. Had the case not been legally aided the fan would have had to pay privately for the hearing, and would not have received his costs back from the Police even though they later decided not to carry on with the case.
Hull City have released a club statement slamming the “draconian restrictions” placed upon their supporters by West Yorkshire Police for their upcoming match at Huddersfield Town on Saturday 30th March.
Amanda Jacks is the FSF’s Caseworker, dealing with our policing and stewarding work. Below she updates us on the case of the Hull City fans and their upcoming ‘bubble’ match at Huddersfield Town.
Fifteen-year-old Hull City fan Louis Cooper is launching a legal challenge against West Yorkshire Police’s (WYP) decision to enforce draconian ticket and travel restrictions for his club’s visit to Huddersfield Town on Saturday 30th March.
Middlesbrough fans watching the draw for the Capital One Cup fourth round last night were no doubt rubbing their at the prospect of a trip to local rivals Sunderland, while fearing another paltry allocation on Wearside.
The Home Office’s arrest statistics for the 2011-12 season have been released today and they make for happy reading. The figures show a drop in total arrests of 24% and, on average, less than one arrest is made at every match. Three out of every four games feature no arrests at all.
A survey carried out by the Football Supporters’ Federation has shown that fans have a “relatively positive perception” of the police’s role in football. The FSF has also backed the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) “three pronged” policing strategy to tackle football-related disorder.
Earlier this week FSF chair Malcolm Clarke joined Duncan Drasdo of Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) in a meeting with officials from Liverpool City Council regarding away ticket allocations. The council’s licensing committee has the power to drastically reduce the number of tickets available to travelling supporters at Anfield and Goodison Park.
Only yesterday Mr Justice Eady passed judgement on matchday policing costs around Elland Road and today the Football Supporters’ Federation has some Leeds United-related news too, in the form of a policing and stewarding survey. The survey was carried out in conjunction with FSF affiliate Leeds United Supporters’ Trust (LUST) and completed by almost 1000 fans.
A significant chunk of the Football Supporters’ Federation’s inbox is made up of fans who have fallen out with their football club. Often it’s the club that is at fault but sometimes it’s the fan too. Occasionally it’s neither – just a small misunderstanding that can be solved with a little common sense from both parties.
The hierarchy at Leeds United has refused to lift its membership ban on Leeds United Supporters’ Trust’s (LUST) chair and board members despite the Football Supporters’ Federation’s attempts to mediate. The club placed a “stop” on LUST board members’ individual ticketing accounts around four weeks ago – this is, in effect, an away match ban. Why? The club don’t like what LUST says.
Manchester United fans will receive only 1,700 tickets for their team’s visit to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on the last day of the season. Under Premier League rules 3,000 tickets could have been made available for travelling fans but that number has been slashed because of “persistent standing”. This is the wrong decision for all fans, not just supporters of the Red Devils. Next time, it could be you…
This article first appeared in civil-rights group Liberty’s newsletter – an organisation the Football Supporters’ Federation has worked with before in defending fans’ rights. Since the “bad old days” of the 1980s football has come a long way. Stadiums are no longer unsafe, dangerous places but fans are too frequently treated as if hooliganism was still rife. And that needs to change…During 2010-11 the total number of arrests at football matches fell 9% from the previous year according to Home Office statistics. Only one in every 12,249 spectators found him or herself arrested at a match and there were no arrests at more than 70% of games. Not a single football-related arrest of England or Wales supporters overseas took place either.
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