The
Introduction of the First Supporter Sanctioning Guidance
On
9 December 2022, the English Football League (EFL) unveiled a Supporter Sanctioning
Guidance document to assist its 72 clubs in managing the behaviour of a small
number of individuals which presented a challenge for club officials. In spring
2022, the EFL commissioned Dr. Ashley J. Lowerson, Assistant Professor at
Northumbria University, an expert in football-related law and whose PhD specifically recommended a change to the management of spectators by clubs, and
Amanda Jacks, Case Worker with the Football Supporters’ Association to produce
the Supporter Sanctioning Guidance. The comprehensive guidance document provides
a standardised sanctioning procedure to help football clubs with the management
of incidents that have breached ground regulations and/or the ticketing terms
and conditions.
The
management of football spectators has for many years been deemed a problematic
area for Parliament, the courts, the police and football clubs. In 1926, after
the first government-commissioned report into the management of football
crowds, it was noted that the ‘joint committees of the local police, the
supporters’ clubs and the club management at a local level should determine how
to resolve issues of spectator misbehaviour’. Fast forward sixty-three years to
the introduction of the Football Spectators Act in 1989, the Government
responded by introducing Football Banning Orders. Although these civil
preventative measures have proven useful in tackling some football-related
criminal behaviour, breaches of the stadium ground regulations and/or the
ticketing terms and conditions have been left to the management of the football
clubs.
Home
Office data for the 2021-22 football season highlighted an increase in disorder
at matches across England and Wales, approximately 59% higher than in the
2018-19 season. The data is specific to football-related offences and not all
breaches of the ground regulations and/or ticketing terms and conditions will
be included within the dataset. Those breaches will not be relative to the
Orders housed in the Football Spectators Act 1989 or be managed by any
individual processes adopted by football clubs. The default position or process
adopted by a club is to prohibit an individual from entering the premises,
namely a ‘club ban’. Bob Eastwood, Head of Security and Safety Operations at
the EFL stated:
“Following
the return of fans, after the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic, the
behaviour of some supporters has been placed under the microscope, which has
prompted questions about how the football authorities deal with these incidents
that are in contravention of ticketing terms and conditions or ground
regulations.”
Only
a small number of football clubs have documented information concerning ‘club
bans’ through their websites. Although the information provided is detailed in
parts, the level of information is still deficient in outlining the key factors
of the club ban procedure and the scope of the ticketing terms and conditions.
Most football clubs have failed to provide any outline regarding the full
purpose and scope of the procedure and sanctions that can be served on
spectators. More importantly, most football clubs have failed to provide
policies that outline an effective appeals process. The Supporter Sanctioning
Guidance aims to eradicate these inconsistent approaches by creating a
standardised procedure that can be utilised by all 72 football league clubs.
Co-author
of the Guidance, Amanda Jacks states:
“[The
Sanctioning Guidance] will help football clubs tackle behaviour in a holistic
way and also give supporters the opportunity to go through a due process if
they suspect them of wrongdoing…they are a football club, not a courtroom and
they have no legal obligation to put them through a due process but I think
they have a very strong moral obligation.”
Introducing
guidance that is closely aligned with the rules of natural justice will move
clubs away from issuing bans in every circumstance and rebalance the rights of
spectators and those of the football club to secure a more proportionate
outcome on a case-by-case basis. Although
it will always be the right of the football club to prohibit entry into the
stadium and/or premises, this guidance offers alternative solutions focusing on
education programmes and restorative justice. The adoption of a process that is
autonomous yet encapsulates proportionality and fairness is key to football
clubs moving forward so we can all enjoy the beautiful game.
A
copy of the EFL Supporter Sanctioning Guidance can be viewed here.
Dr. Ashley J. Lowerson, Assistant
Professor, Northumbria University
