Andy Burnham pushes to overhaul football law unchanged for 40 years | OneFootball

Andy Burnham is actively considering scrapping the law that bans football fans from drinking in the stands

The Sporting Events Act of 1985, which prohibited the consumption of alcohol within the view of football pitches in the top five leagues of English football, has been a topic of debate for a few years now.

The law was introduced to crack down on hooliganism, which was at its peak among football fans at the time.

In 1985, there were major incidents at Luton Town in a match with Millwall, at Birmingham City in a game against Leeds United, and the Heysel Stadium disaster, too, which resulted in English clubs being banned from European competitions for five years and gave English fans a thuggish reputation.

However, the last 40 years have helped improve British football fans' reputation. While there are still some cases of poor crowd behaviour, things are, on the whole, much improved when it comes to perceived hooliganism.

Yet, alcohol is still banned in stands from the National League up to the Premier League. There have been some calls in the past year to change this legislation, and new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is keen to put plans together to modify those laws.

Andy Burnham is "actively considering" letting football fans drink in stands

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According to a report over the weekend from the Sun, Andy Burnham's government is considering letting football fans drink in the stands once more.

The former Mayor of Greater Manchester became the new Prime Minister last week, and has been outspoken recently about how he feels the ban on football fans drinking in the stands is "wrong," especially given that the rule doesn't apply to other sports, too.

In a video on X during Rugby League's Magic Weekend earlier this month, which took place at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Toffees and Leigh Leopards fan questioned why his friends could drink in his season ticket seat during the rugby, but not while he's watching football.

And, following his election as Prime Minister, a government spokesperson has said, "We are considering the case being made by some clubs and supporter groups for reviewing the current restrictions on alcohol consumption at football matches.

"The safety of football fans remains our priority, and any future consideration of charges would need to be evidence-led and informed by the policing and safety authorities, as well as clubs, supporters and other partners in the football sector."

How football fans have reacted to Andy Burnham's plans to let them drink in stands once again

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Ultimately, football fan culture has led to this proposed changing of the legislation being received pretty poorly amongst football fans, especially following a World Cup where fans have been filmed in fan parks throwing their drinks following a goal.

Fan culture in the stands at rugby league games, where the Prime Minister made his case towards the start of the month, is completely different, much more family-oriented and a little less passionate compared to football.

"Terrible idea (I say this as a match-going fan)," one fan said in response to the news being relayed on X by the Sun. "Don't think many people would want beer chucking over them in freezing cold winter for example, no thanks," another said.

"Literally no match-going fans want this," said a Manchester United fan, before linking a video of him getting absolutely drenched after the Red Devils scored a penalty in a Champions League game away at FC Copenhagen - a game they ended up losing.

"Can’t wait to be covered in beer because Lewis Wing scored a penalty after 5 minutes," a Reading fan added.

There has been a lot of political momentum over the past week following Andy Burnham's election as Prime Minister, with the Labour leader vowing to end rough sleeping, cut VAT from electricity bills and introduce business rate cuts for pubs, for example.

The exploration into removing the ban on alcohol in the view of football pitches at elite level, though, doesn't seem to be garnering as much support.