Football bans for fans using pyro in grounds should be tougher, Scots clubs urge
Football clubs wanting to tackle the growing problem of pyrotechnics at matches are asking for tougher bans for supporters bringing them into grounds.
Scotland's football clubs are urging for tougher banning orders for supporters bringing pyrotechnics into stadiums.
The growing problem of flares being set off at matches has resulted in an expert working group saying that court-issued supporter bans are in need modernisation to tackle the issue, reports the BBC.
Due to pyro incidents involving their fans in the Premier Sports Cup semi final, Rangers and Celtic were recently hit with a cut in future ticket allocations as punishment. However, football chiefs have admit "nobody has quite cracked" how to deal with the issue.
Football Banning Orders (FBO s) prevent fans from attending any match in the UK and can be imposed for up to 10 years. Police Scotland data shows just five FBOs had been issued after conviction in the current football season, as of February 17.
This has decreased from 37 in the 2023/24 season and 59 in 2022/23. However, the number of FBOs issued by courts represent just a small fraction of those Police Scotland asked for.
In 2023/24 they asked for 226 FBOs to be issued if the person they arrested was found guilty by the courts.
In the last decade across Scotland, a total of 504 FBOs have been issued with Rangers and Hibernian supporters topping the table - much of which related to the pitch invasion after the 2016 Scottish Cup Final.
An expert group tasked with tackling the misuse of pyro at football was set up last year by Scottish ministers, which included the SPFL, the Football Safety Officers Association, Police Scotland and the Crown Office.
Using Freedom of Information laws, the BBC obtained the minutes of its meetings which show the group was "strongly of the view" that FBOs "need broadening and modernised, with more flexibility".
The minutes said: "It was agreed by all that the application of an FBO is a far stronger deterrent than club ban and increased use of FBOs is essential to combat criminal behaviour within Scottish football grounds."
Change was made in England and Wales in 2022 where the courts were expected to automatically add an FBO for football-related convictions unless there is a good reason not to, which the group pointed to.
In the first first full year after this change was made during the 2023/24 season, there was a 21 percent increase in FBOs issued.
The Scottish government expert group also suggested that shorter FBO bans for first offenders"to provide proportionality for sheriffs" would be helpful.
In June 2023, new legislation came into force making it a criminal offence to possess pyrotechnics at events like football matches. However, the working group questioned its usefulness.
They note it is "being used infrequently at football matches", adding "there is a challenge in identifying and charging individuals who breach the legislation".
The minutes add group members felt the "FBO legislation does not tie in with pyrotechnics legislation".
Scottish ministers, in their latest programme for government, said they would consult on revising the current legislation on FBOs to make sure it can be applied in response to the misuse of pyrotechnics at football.
One SPFL chairman, who asked not to be named, told the BBC clubs improving relationships with ultras and fan groups is key to reducing the pyro danger.
They said: "We have got to be careful with pyro as there are people with genuine health issues who can be seriously affected by the smoke but I think sometimes the problem is the youngsters don't see the risk, or understand the impact on other people.
"So we have to work with the ultras and create some reasonable boundaries and I think we can do that within football.
"There used to be a lot more bad behaviour associated with the Tartan Army until they self-policed themselves, in a sense setting the boundaries for each other and that is where the solution really lies - each group of supporters having this informal code of conduct."
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