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After the Act? The (re)construction and regulation of football fandom |
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Football & CJA: > About the campaign > Summary > After the act > New Statesman > Ticket touts > Ticket to hide > law/campaign links < football home Related links: > bust card > Footie fans' rights > your rights on arrest > your rights under CJA > Section 27 > Section 60 > Legal homepage |
abstract - introduction - Govt and regulation - Criminal Justice Act - Other CJA provisions - Conclusion Football and the Criminal Justice Act: Many of the provisions of the CJA 1994 have the potential to affect football fans in a generalised fashion such as the those relating to right to silence, taking of samples etc. Other sections have ramifications for football fans specifically (such as the ticket touting provisions examined below) or have applications that may impinge upon football fandom more than might have been expected. Examples in this category are those such as the provisions relating to stop and search, intentional harassment and peaceful demonstrations (traditional means of protesting at a team's lack of success is to demonstrate before and after matches (at Manchester City ritualistic chanting of 'Swales out' indicated fans disapproval of the last chairman). This section concentrates on the ticket touting provisions of the Act and the debate concerning whether safety or public order is the fulcrum to the football legislation. 
The main tangential sections that may cause disquiet amongst football fans will also be considered including the increased stop and search powers and the offence of aggravated trespass. The apparent crisis in football of the 1980's has given way to increasing optimism, attendance figures increased over the last two seasons, see table below, and whilst the figures are not high by comparison with post war attendances (77 million in 1949/50 down to around 20 million in the late 1980's) they must be seen in the light of the shift towards all seater stadia and the concomitant decrease in ground capacities.
Source: National Football Intelligence Unit: for updates visit the NFIS website
Whilst attendances have increased overall, arrests have fallen. The figure for the total arrests over all four divisions was 3,840 in 1994/5 compared with 4,227 the previous season(35). There are however fears that these arrest figures that have been declining steadily over recent years will escalate in the face of the new provisions. For example, the National Criminal Intelligence Unit already report that arrests under the ticket touting provisions have increased from 47 in 1993/4 to 224 in 1994/5 and it is this, the only football specific provision in the CJA that will be dealt with first. Ticket touting was identified in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster to be a serious matter that potentially led to disorder at games.(36) A clause was drafted for the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to account for the recommendations that Taylor proposed and the section was heavily debated in both Houses regarding its scope. Foremost in the initial debates was whether the offence should embrace other entertainment events rather than be specific to football (37) Tom Pendry arguing that: We recognise that no two sports are the same, and the problems associated with football do not necessarily relate to other sporting events, but there is now one common element to all major sporting events such as cricket, football, rugby, tennis, golf and so on-the potential that they offer to the criminal element who tout tickets. (38)
This perspective was backed up by Menzies Campbell who added that 'the notion of the ticket tout as a friendly Flashman-type figure has long since been removed from the consciousness of those who have made any study of the matter. Consequently, the amendments are intended to bring home as graphically as possible that ticket touting are a serious criminal matter.' (39) Even Seb Coe discussing the (im)possibility of his Falmouth constituents obtaining a ticket for the FA cup final or a test match commented: A moral issue arises when a ticket tout can sell a ticket that should have been destined for one of those people to someone who simply turns up on the day of an event with a few hundred pounds in his pocket. That is wrong. Clearly, the morality of that should be questioned on both sides of the House. (40) The amendment was however defeated by 143:269 votes. The debate highlighted the dichotomy that lay behind the measure, was it an issue of criminality or purely a safety issue? This problem has not be adequately resolved, there is certainly some support within the Conservative party for ticket touts on the ground of free enterprise coupled with a realisation that many corporate hospitality packages inevitably contain an element of ticket inflation.
The House of Lords also considered the provisions and an attempt was made to make a 'logical extension of the legislation to cover all sporting events at which more than 6,000 tickets are sold'.(41). The Government line continued to be that the section was designed to deal with the football/public order problem and that ticket touting in other areas was merely an example of an effective free market operating, a view Lord Donoughue took strong issue with: There is much evidence that ticket touting has been taken over by professional criminals in other sports. It does not mean that all other sports are identical to football; we are not saying that it is an identical problem. This problem takes a different form in different sports. But the common element is the criminal element. The sporting bodies have documented the tactics used by touts to get tickets. Their actions regularly include fraud, theft, deception, forgery and intimidation. Those involved are often organised into Mafia-style gangs; and to obtain tickets they steal in the post, they mug ticket holders in the street and steal from the hands of children... Ticket touting is a public order issue, not just in relation to football. There is evidence from the Police Federation that the police are concerned at the growth of criminality, at the extent of public nuisance involved and that under the present law they can do little about it. The answer is not a jumble of self-regulation, growing up in various sports introduced by various governing bodies and backed by private security agents. That is not desirable and not effective...There is in my view no logical or practical distinction between the criminals who tout tickets at Wembley and the gangs - so far legal - who tout at Wimbledon, Twickenham, Lords or York Races' (42)
Lord Donoughue's amendment was eventually accepted allowing a provision to be inserted to provide the Secretary of State with the ability to extend the provisions by statutory instrument to cover other sporting events. Still at issue was the ambiguity concerning who was covered by the provision. Lord Mostyn made the point that if he were to offer a ticket that he had purchased to another of the Lords in a public house because he was unable to go he would according to the Act be committing an offence, a point that Tom Pendry took up during the third reading: How will (The Minister) protect the ordinary, honest fan from possible prosecution if he buys a ticket for a friend? As the Bill stands the fan who asks a friend to buy him a ticket in advance and then pays for it at face value on the train to a match or in another public place will be asking his friend to commit an offence. I am sure that this is not the Minister's intention, but what direction will he give the police and the courts for such circumstances? These measures are designed to protect genuine sports fans; there should be no possibility, therefore, of their suffering as a result of the measures.(43)
Mr Maclean for the Government responded to this point by saying that 'The law is perfectly clear. It does not penalise the individual who plans to go to a match, discovers that he cannot go and passes his ticket to a friend. The law does not catch such people.' (44) A view seemingly ratified by the November 1994 Westminster Strategy Report prepared by the Government Media Relations Department which noted that; The clause prohibits the unauthorised sale, or offer for sale, of a ticket in a public place, a place to which the public has access to, or in any other place if the sale is in the course of a trade or business. The aim is to prevent the professional ticket tout but not, for instance, to make it illegal for someone to sell on a ticket to a friend or relation.
CJA 1994 s166(1) now provides that It is an offence for an unauthorised person to sell, or offer or expose for sale, a ticket for a designated football match in any public place to which the public has access or, in the course of a trade or business, in any other place. However, since this came into force in November 1994 there have been some overly literal applications of the section. In March 1995 three Birmingham City fans were arrested at Wycombe for attempting to sell a spare ticket at face value outside the away end. One of the fans was a season ticket holder and stood to make no profit from the transaction, yet he was still arrested before the match and held at the station for 8 hours. Even more ludicrously, the Stoke Evening Sentinel recently reported the case of a 10 year old Stoke City fan who won a ticket for their game against Milwall in April. He was unable to go to the match and tried to sell his ticket (face value 11.00) for 7.00 in a local paper. His father was rung up by a club official and informed that the club would be passing the details on to the police. It is apparent that 'touts' are still plying their trade at profitable matches perhaps a little further from the ground. The same problem exists for the police as with many of the other football provisions, arrests will displace officers from the immediate vicinity. All seater grounds lessen the problem referred to by Joe Ashton as it is very difficult for opposition fans to congregate together, they will remain in isolated pockets unless a major ticket buying operation has been activated. In this instance the provisions will not apply as tickets ill be obtained well in advance.
Footnotes: 35. Source: National Football Intelligence Unit. Thanks to DI Chapman for his help in obtaining material 36. See Taylor Cmnd 962, para 275 and generally Greenfield S & Osborn G 'Criminalising Football Supporters: Tickets, Touts and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994' Journal of Sport and Law, forthcoming 37. Tom Pendry put forward an amendment to Clause 137 (as then was) designed to shift the focus of the section from football matches so that it would cover all sporting events. 38. Hansard (HC) 13 April 1994 349-350 39. Hansard (HC) 13 April 1994 351 40. Hansard (HC) 13 April 1994 353 41. Hansard (HL), 20 June 1994, Col 144. 42. Hansard (HL) 20 June 1994 Col 145 43. Hansard (HC) 20 October 1994 Col 514 44. Hansard (HC) 20 October 1994 Col 517 Next page: Other CJA provisions with ramifications for civil liberties of football fans |
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