After the Act?   The (re)construction and regulation of football fandom

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abstract - introduction - Govt and regulation - Criminal Justice Act - Other CJA provisions - Conclusion After the Act? - Conclusion Lord Justice Taylor's report on the Hillsborough tragedy was enormously influential in (eventually) shaping both the voluntary and regulatory regime that has dominated football since. He pointed out a number of factors that he felt tarnished 'our national game'; ..wider and deeper inquiry shows that overcrowding is only one feature amongst a number causing danger or marring football as a spectator sport. The picture revealed is of a general malaise or blight over the game due to a number of factors. Principally these are: old grounds, poor facilities, hooliganism, excessive drinking and poor leadership.(50) The game, at least at Premier League level, has certainly changed since both on and off the field. All seated Stadia are the norm with new stands encompassing previously unthought of facilities for eating and drinking. Many of these facilities have far more in common with those found in North American sports stadia than English football grounds. Yet a new set of problems has emerged, many fans are discontented with the high prices clubs are charging for tickets and this has led to the emergence of some independent supporters groups (51). With safety measures unlikely to cause significant controversy it is the attempts to regulate fans' conduct which are more problematic. All of the provisions described have sought to address the 'hooligan' problem yet most have been unsuccessful. Driven by political considerations, originally the concerns of the Prime Minister herself, there was a distinct tendency to ignore the views of the football authorities. and promote her own agenda, for example John Cunningham M.P. observed in the debate on the Football Spectators Bill; The preparation and promotion of the Bill have all the familiar trademarks of the domineering attitude of the Prime Minister the Bill epitomises all that is wrong with the Government and with many Conservative members. as with the Poll tax and water privatisation, the Secretary of State promotes the Bill only because the Prime Minister says so. (52) This unfortunate method of policy making has continued with the current administration despite John Major's supposed pro footballing tendencies (Chelsea). The flaws in the CJA 1994 are a result of a misinterpretation of the situation rather than a panic law solution, other measures such as increased stewarding and CCTV have reduced the likelihood of disorder inside the stadium. Taylor was reporting at a time when grounds were profoundly different, fans cannot congregate in small groups through the purchase of illicit tickets and in any event are likely to be ejected at the first sign of their support. However even Taylor recognised that any proposed legislation should protect the ordinary fan, the genuine ticket holder, finding himself unable on the day to use his ticket should be permitted to return it to the club and recover his money. Clubs should be prepared to accept such tickets in the interests of fairness and of having a law which defeats touts (53). As the Government has taken a blunderbuss approach to what is essentially a moral issue the emphasis is now firmly on the clubs to ensure that fans are not criminalised for passing on a spare ticket. Perhaps more importantly the act raises questions about the applicability of legislation to football, if clubs were to exercise greater control over ticket allocation, one of the demands of the Independent Supporters groups, the problems of touts could be lessened. Football has addressed many of the `blight' on the game and is not helped by unnecessary and ill conceived Government intervention; All these new police powers have come at a time when domestic football has made great strides in self regulation, with a resulting dramatic decrease in incidents of arrest and violence. Better police surveillance and intelligence, the use of club stewards, and the continuing trend of getting the actual supporters involved with stadium policing have helped to make grounds far more welcoming places. The role of the burgeoning fanzine culture and supporters' organisations like the Football Supporters Association have helped articulate the true voice of the terraces, and have gone some way to dispel the stereotypical image of fans as hooligans (54). Footnotes: 50. op cit para 26. 51. The authors interviewed two prominent members of the Manchester United ISA who were formed prior to the start of the 1995 season, The original impetus was not the sale of three established players, Kanchelskis, Hughes and Ince, as was generally assumed by the media. Their demands are i) price rises to be in line with inflation ii) encourage more young local fans into OT with cheaper seats iii) recreate the old atmosphere-unreserved seats behind each goal iv) less restrictions on European travel v) a fairer distribution of away tickets vi) A constructive dialogue between Board and fans. This latter point seems increasingly unlikely given the frosty relations between the group and the Club's management. 52. Hansard (HC) 27 June 1989 Col 852. 53. op cit 279. 54. Slocombe M New Statesman 1995 Back to football homepage

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