The worry for those who attend games is what will happen in the summer

The fact is that when major news outlets combine to say there is a problem, there is a problem.  Either because they are reporting on a real problem, or because their reporting heightens a minor issue and turns it into something big.  And that wholesale reuse of that “more than once” headline (of which more in a moment) strongly suggests media hysteria is a major factor here.

The Sky Sports piece tells us that “Premier League and EFL launch review into crowd trouble at football; disorder has increased across the board in 2021-22 compared to 2019-20 with incidents involving pyrotechnics up from 193 to 229, throwing of missiles up from 116 to 223 and hate crime reports in stadia up from 146 to 206”.

But of course, none of these reports put anything into perspective, because, well putting things into perspective is for namby-pamby wishy-washy liberals who like to undermine the wild and whacky proclamations of lazy journalists who love a story that is thrust in their faces without them having to do any work.

Certainly, on TV and in the newspapers, it looks like there is more of a problem but…  I’ve attended every Arsenal home match this season including pre-season friendlies and have seen incidents of an individual getting on the pitch, but they were very minor.   We have had some problems at the ground but when we did, not one reported them under an agreement between the media and the league. 

But now, my friends who sit near the away fans say they have noticed there has been a considerable increase in problems with the away supporters.  And my pals who go to away games, suggest that at certain grounds home fans outside the grounds lie in wait for them.

So is this just an away support problem?   If it is, that is easy to deal with.   Or is it confined to a few clubs?  Again, there’s an easy solution.   Simply take police reports and where there is a certain level of difficulty ban away fans.   If it is the home fans causing a problem, cut the capacity in half – an action that would certainly make clubs sort out their problems very quickly.

And this is the point: the fact is that there are easy solutions.   Where there are large gatherings of people there can be problems, and that is not the issue.  The issue is the magnitude and regularity of the problems.

Look at the fact, take action, problems probably solved.  If capacity at a ground is cut in half and problems continue, cut it in half again.   If visiting supporters are banned from the ground, and problems continue that tells you something about who is causing the difficulty.

If the problem is with occasional match-goers, stop selling them tickets for a few matches, and then start again slowly, with warnings that anyone causing any problems at all will be banned for life.  If it is away support causing the problem, cut the number of away supporters by 50%.  If that works, slowly allow the number to rise, but with a warning, any more problems and this club will not be allowed away tickets at specific grounds.

But the fact is none of these simple, logical steps is taken.   Why is that?

First, most clubs are losing money and so closing part of the ground would reduce their income.  Money is after all more important than safety (at least in football).

Second, there is an agreement between TV companies and the clubs that the TV companies will not show crowd trouble unless it is on the pitch.   Some fans know that and so they take their issues onto the pitch.  

Third, and perhaps most important, one of the biggest culprits, perhaps the biggest culprit was the FA with the Euro finals, and it is against the agreement between the media and the FA for anything to be blamed on the FA.  So the FA, who were clearly guilty on a mega-scale of gross incompetence at that match, are never blamed.  And that is the fault of the mass media for ever agreeing to that arrangement.