Not selling alcohol at football is not "discrimination"

I alwas send my football fanatic colleague a picture of my pint and the pitch when I go to the rugby, it's a silly joke we have.

I've ben to hundreds of rugby games where alcohol is served and never seen a fight. Disagreements are normally resolved quickly.

Football has an awful reputation unfortunately, and alcohol fuels that

I don't particularly have an opinion on the 'discrimination' argument but what baffles me is that, being PM and all the possible causes you could take up in the early days of your premiership, this is one he's chosen to support. Surely there are more important, pressing matters. I know not every policy change has to be a 'big' one, but there must be more impactful, important 'little' ones than this?!

I’ve been to all manner of sports matches and I’ve got to say the football supporters are the worst tempered. So alcohol at stadiums won’t mix with those tempers flared. I was glad to leave the last match as it was getting heated amongst the actual supporters 🙄
Prefer the atmosphere at rugby and cricket, it’s a lot more sportsmanship like.
It’s not discrimination, it’s historical. My friend’s dh was attacked at a tube station a few years ago when they left a football match. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.

It's funny how all these issues don't seem to happen at the women's game. I wonder what the common denominator is?

Is that Scotland or England, the laws are different.

Decades ago I worked at football, preseason friendly I think it was Newcastle fans were asking for the bar. Which doesn't exist in Scottish grounds.

I could send a pic from the last Ligue 1 match I attended of a beer and the pitch last time my home team played PSG (Ultras in tow) but I'm not really sure it proves anything

But chicken and egg isn’t it- do football fans sometimes behave like that because of the way they’re treated? Look at hillsborough

It’s not discrimination, but a drink at half time, at men’s football, with a pie/whatever is part of the tradition. 👍

I’ve never watched women’s football, so I haven’t got a clue what they do. 🤷‍♀️. I’ve been to hundreds of London derbies, plus England matches, without incident.

It won’t stop drunkenness - no one pays football ground prices for all drinks - they go in Wetherspoons pubs beforehand.

The old hooliganism of the 80’s has long gone. 👍

England - the WSL.
They allow you to take drinks to the stands and seats.

95% of football fans are capable of having a pint at their seat without chucking it or getting into a fight because of it.

It’s the 5% that can’t that this rule applies to and is needed for.

if some fans near the barrier with away fans, get riled they would end up lobbing their pint and you can’t have that.

The issues don’t happen at men’s games. Because currently they can’t drink at their seats or during the game. You seem to be saying you believe they would be worse if alcohol was served during the game, or that it wouldn’t make any difference as they’re already trouble?

@Backedoffhackedoff
Possibly because most other sports don't have supporters who behave the way they do when drunk.

And the 5% of rugby or cricket fans? What do we do for them?

I think it is discriminatory. Not because you can't drink a football but becuase you can't drink at men's football, there are no restrictions at the women's game.

I'm a regular at men's football, and have been since the dark days of the 1980s.

Now, the absolute majority of fans are fine with or without a drink, but football attracts huge numbers week in week out and anywhere you get massive numbers and alcohol, you're going to get some problems, but the rules aren't based on attendance, they're based on sex and sport.

I attend football at a Premiership Club, a League 2 club and a National League Club. The NL are newly promoted and getting crowds of 1200 pw. There's never been any trouble there to my knowledge, but now they can't sell alcohol during the game, which was an important income stream for them.

There is trouble in pubs across the country every weekend. No one thinks all pubs should be prevented from selling alcohol, but those who have repeated issues lose their licence. Why is football treated differently?

They take drinks to their seats! But also have a pint and food (usually a pie) at half time too.

Yeah they do. I’ve seen plenty of punch ups in rugby hospitality tents (used to work at twickenham)

A number of posters have described poor/violent behaviour by football fans ( either at the game or in the pub/in public). I'm pointing out that despite being allowed to drink during the game, those issues don't appear to happen at the women's game. Or by football fans watching the women's game in a pub.

Football fans get a hard time on MN when really what people are talking about is men behaving poorly and being violent. It's not the football, it's men.

I had a season ticket for 17 years at my local club. I absolutely support the ban staying.

By the way, in case anyone was unsure - you CAN still buy alcohol in the ground. It just can't be consumed anywhere in sight of the pitch, which includes under the stands where you can see out into the stadium.

What other section of society could you take a negative characteristic of a small minority from a group and apply it to them all?

Asylum seekers are rapists
Benefits claimants are lazy
Women are gold diggers

You get the gist. Yes there are some nasty thugs at football, just as there have been awful offences by asylum seekers but reasonable people wouldn't dream of speaking of them as a group based on that.

Yes there are some nasty thugs at football, just as there have been awful offences by asylum seekers but reasonable people wouldn't dream of speaking of them as a group based on that.

There are political parties and "movements" in the UK who do just that.

Yes, I said reasonable people..

I live in Glasgow, it's bad enough with football fans without adding alcohol in the grounds.

It’s also the element of organised crime that is linked to football “holligans”

I mean, you realise kier starmer just stands there and watches foootball, he doesn’t arrange to meet someone from N7 beforehand to have a fight

I think this is a really bad idea. I love going to see my team on the rare occasion I can bag a ticket but adding alcohol into the mix will only increase the risk of trouble. Lots of fans pre-load ( drink and drugs) anyway.

I have also witnessed trouble at cricket matches because of large groups of pissed up men.

Drink is readily available pre and post match - we dont need it in the stands.

I think the ban on drinking in the stands has led to the attending fan base becoming more diverse. The atmosphere is a lot nicer as a result.

We have season tickets to a top PL club and I'd massively reduce the games I'd go to if drinking is allowed in the stands. I've been to game screenings where alcohol is allowed in the stands and it's a mess. Beer getting thrown everywhere when the team scores. People falling over in the stands. General stupidity. It's all much nicer without the beer.