Football Matches: Violence Debate
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Lord Addington
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Football Matches: Violence
Lord Addington Excerpts(11 months ago)
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Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)
I congratulate my noble friend on his recent appointment. I am sure my right honourable friend the Sports Minister would be very glad to speak to him. He will be a great impartial referee for football, even if he has strong views on certain teams. As I say, unlawful entry on to the playing area is already an offence. Even in exuberant moments of celebration, that should not be happening. It is not always possible to keep spectators off the pitch in moments of high celebration. Stewards and police make every effort to prevent it happening. Of course, the police investigate these incidents after the event as well to make sure people are prosecuted where appropriate.
Lord Addington (LD)
My Lords, will the Minister agree that one of the ways of solving this is to make sure that the culture within the fan groups accepts that there will be consequences to attacking or going over the fence? Will the Government encourage football to make sure that, if fans behave like this, there will be a penalty for their club and the individuals, to encourage those around them to restrain them if necessary, or at least to deter them in some way? The fans can police themselves.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)
Of course, the vast majority of fans want to go to and enjoy football matches safely; it is only a minority who sometimes seek to spoil that. The Government have worked with authorities across football to help to co-ordinate action in this area. We welcome the additional measures that have been introduced. The FA, the Premier League and the English Football League announced tougher sanctions, including automatic reporting to the police for anyone participating in anti-social or criminal behaviour, increased use of sniffer dogs and club bans for anyone who enters the pitch or uses pyrotechnics. The noble Lord is right: there is a role for fans and clubs themselves to help to maintain order and an enjoyable day out.