Burnham’s call to lift football alcohol ban meets fan pushback

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has reopened the debate over alcohol restrictions inside football grounds, telling reporters in New York that the ban on drinking in the stands during men's matches should be scrapped, according to Metro Football.

Burnham described the restriction as 'discrimination' and said he did not think it fair for football supporters to be 'singled out', taking aim at a rule introduced during the Thatcher government to combat hooliganism. The ban currently applies across the top five tiers of the English game, Metro Football reports.

The Prime Minister, whose relaxed rapport with football culture has become part of his public image, made the comments unprompted. His team subsequently clarified that the remarks reflected the personal opinion of an Everton fan rather than a formal government proposal, as Metro Football notes.

That clarification did little to head off criticism. Writing for Metro Football, Ross McCafferty said he was 'completely opposed – in fact I can't think of anything worse', despite regularly attending League One matches involving Leyton Orient and describing himself as no stranger to a pint.

McCafferty argued that even a small proportion of supporters choosing to drink through a match could change the atmosphere for everyone else in the ground, adding to the disruption already caused by fans moving along rows to reach the bar or the toilets.

He also pointed to the potential, however limited, for alcohol to fuel disorder among supporters more interested in confrontation than the match itself, and referenced the recurring problem of pint-throwing among England fans during recent World Cups as evidence of the risks that come with drink and football mixing.

There was a football argument too. McCafferty suggested that pints in hand could take the spontaneity out of celebrating a goal, particularly in the Premier League, where a goal ruled out by VAR moments after it is scored could leave supporters standing in spilled lager for nothing.

He also took issue with Burnham's choice of language, saying he 'winced slightly' at the use of the word discriminatory to describe a safety measure rather than treating it purely as a matter of policy debate.

For now, Burnham's remarks remain a personal view aired at a press conference rather than a firm commitment from Downing Street, with his team stressing there is no active plan to change the alcohol laws that have governed English football grounds since the 1980s.