In 1985, when the consumption of alcohol in the stands of English football grounds was banned in the top five divisions, football supporters were demonised to the point of exploitation.
That demonisation culture, particularly by the elite establishment, directly led to the institutional cover-up at Hillsborough in 1989 that is a stain on England’s cultural landscape. Anything that erodes that demonisation is to be welcomed.
And yet, despite all that, I still can’t support the lifting of the alcohol ban in stands. And I have seven reasons why…
The Boxpark spray
Unfortunately, we live in a culture where people think that paying a tenner for a pint of bad lager so that they can performatively throw it into the air when Harry Kane scores a goal is a good, funny and normal thing to do.
We also live in a culture where videos of these scenes are forced into our brains via social media algorithms because we watched some organic away end limbs. Yes, culture is bad now.
Also, I’ve twice been to Borussia Dortmund and been soaked by beer raining down from the tier above. It’s not that fun, it’s not that clever and I think it would become a hazard at English grounds. If that makes me a killjoy, sorry.
Beware the performative Boxpark spray (Photo: Getty)The up-and-downing
At my normal seat at the City Ground when I attend as a fan, there is a lady who is probably in her 80s and sits at the end of a row. Her experience as a season-ticket holder is as important as anyone else’s. Perhaps even more so, given her loyalty over the decades.
That lady does not want to keep standing up and down to let people out and back in. And I think it is inarguable that allowing beer in stands would increase the regularity of that happening, either for more drinks or to go to the toilet.
The away fan throw
The performative celebration beer throw is one danger, but there’s also evidently a risk of liquid being thrown as an act of comedic aggression.
It’s clearly something that will need to be factored into the stewarding and policing of matches. It only takes a few idiots do something silly and we all get a bad reputation anyway; we know from the past how football fans get tarred with the same brush.
It’s 45 minutes we’re talking about here
This is a significant point. England has a magnificent pub culture and a just-as-magnificent train cans culture and both of these intertwine heavily with the live football experience.
If you want to drink around football, you can meet people an hour or two early (or more), also have a beer at half-time and then meet back at the pub or train station and carry on if that floats your boat. Is any of that experience diminished by having to go two periods of 45 minutes without an extra drink?
Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants beer back in football stands (Photo: Getty)Have you ever been on a big away day and, 15 minutes after your half-time beer, thought: “This day would have been better if I could have had another pint of tepid Carlsberg in my hand right now”. Nor me.
Football fans don’t want this
This is another relevant point. There is an argument to say that relaxation of the rules is reason enough to remove the ban. Just because you can drink in stands doesn’t mean that everybody will.
But most supporters I’ve spoken to aren’t bothered and aren’t even supportive. They see all the above. This strikes as a populist initiative that isn’t actually as popular as you may think.
The thin end of the wedge
Here is my strongest argument. It’s not about the beer, it’s about setting a tone that reduces the unfair cultural mistrust and mistreatment of football supporters.
But there are a dozen better ways to address that historic exploitation than allowing football fans to pay exorbitant prices for bad beer and allow Premier League clubs to make even more money out of fans.
Rather than campaign to end the beer ban, how about entrenching discounts for seniors and young children into legislation? How about a further reduction on away ticket prices or a cap on the percentage rise in season ticket cost? Or how about privatising a train network on which costs routinely increase for worse service?
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The non-league experience
And here’s the kicker: you can already watch football in England while drinking a beer and watching the game. While queuing for that beer you don’t even need to miss any action and, if you need another drink or to use the toilet, you don’t need to disturb anyone on the way.
It’s called non-league, it’s brilliant and if bringing in drinking at games in the Football League caused a loss of income at non-league level in any form, it would be a great shame.
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