How stewards decide who gets removed from a UK football stadium | OneFootball

FLW has looked at the regulations involving stewards in the EFL

Stewarding and policing across English football matches has often generated plenty of discussion amongst supporters of many clubs, whether they are in the Premier League, EFL or non-league.

Of course, there are stark differences in terms of the facilities on offer across all 92 professional clubs in the top flight, Championship, League One and League Two due to the level of finances available to each and every side on an individual basis - not all of which can be spent solely on making the on-pitch product a greater spectacle in terms of transfer business.

A fair size of funds generated by each club does have to go into the infrastructure of its stadium on a daily, weekly, monthly and then annually basis, which includes ensuring that supporters feel as safely accommodated as possible, regardless of whether they are a home or away supporter and if it is their first-ever time in a stadium or not.

Due to the high-profile nature of specific matches, which the EFL is certainly blessed with in terms of cross-city or local derbies, the sheer number of stewards and police officers can differ dramatically.

Over the years, and especially during the age of social media, video tapes and clips of rival supporters clashing either outside the stadium or in the stands have gone viral beyond belief, and at times, those watching said instances could be left scratching their heads as to why a specific decision or punishment has subsequently been handed out by a lower-level or high-level steward or potentially those with even greater control.

As such, it begs the question as to how those who are there to ensure every supporter's safety is at the best level possible can remove those who are not behaving in accordance with regulations set by the governing bodies or a specific club in relation to their stadium guidelines.

Football League World have, as a result, looked into this particular topic.

As previously mentioned, punishments are often relevant to what disorder has been committed by each and every supporter to have been detained by a steward.

For clubs in the Championship, League One and League Two, they are issued with a handbook from the English Football League (EFL) called the 'EFL Supporter Sanctioning Guide' which breaks down and categorises how specific instances should be dealt with.

Section 3 of the guide outlines some of these, as it is titled 'Potential Breaches of Ground Regulations / Ticketing Terms and Conditions'.

The first two lines of this particular section outline how instances, again, should be handled on a case-by-case basis.

"Potential breaches are broken down by seriousness and categorised into levels. The breaches are explicitly linked to ticketing terms and conditions, the ground regulations and/or criminal behaviour. If individual conduct/actions or misbehaviour is not listed below, clubs should use their discretion when deciding whether to issue a club ban or any other sanction, but this should be carefully considered and proportionate. The club retains full discretion to impose a differing sanction as they deem appropriate based on the merits of each case.

However, it is the expectation that any action taken should be within the spirit of this document. If any action is taken outside of the remit of this document, then a rationale may need to be provided in the event of an appeal, or a complaint to the Independent Football Mediator (IFO)."

Level One Breaches include misbehavior such as smoking/vaping, alcohol-related offences, persistent standing and behaviours which impact the safety of other supporters, whilst Level Two Breaches include deliberate damage to property, assault, possession of pyrotechnics and drugs, the use of further prohibited items, hate crime/discrimination (including online) and the breach of a pre-existing stadium ban.

There are then five subsequent categories which determine whether a Football Banning Order as per the Football Spectators Act 1989 is given as well as a criminal offence. This includes if a spectator is found guilty of a criminal offence but is or is not given a Football Banning Order, hate crime/discrimination, ticketing offences and incidents away from the home (team) football stadium.

According to data from the Home Office, throughout the 2024/2025 season, there were 1,932 football-related arrests made, representing an 11 percent decrease to 2023/24.

Whilst this can be seen as a slight positive, there was, unfortunately, an increase in banning orders, as the number went up from 2,172 to 2,439, and that 1,583 football-related incidents were reported, which was also a major 18 percent increase.

As such, clubs up and down the country will be ensuring that supporters can still generate a hostile atmosphere for opponents without the need for it to spill over into unwanted scenes, whether that is on the pitch, in the stands or in the surrounding areas pre and post-match.