Bring back the sale of alcohol to football grounds??
On the face of it this sounds like a ‘no brainer’ – definitely not.
But is it that simple?
As a publican from the home of Rangers Supporters in London I have a little experience in this.
What is it we actually don’t want? drunks and violent behaviour in a football ground where passions run very high at times. I think we all agree on that.
Some fans will want to drink before a match. They may also have some really sneaky ways to get more in for the game.
So where do they get there drink before the game? well, the corner shop or supermarket perhaps a few hundred yards from stadium. As this is not an ‘On license’ they get their booze cheaper than your average pub – so they can get more for less and get tanked up or pre-loaded. Going through the turnstile they have to hold their breath for about 30 seconds and they are in – and totally pissed having gulped half a dozen cans of nectar.
When they are buying their booze they are dealing with a shopkeeper not a Licensee. I have seen people taking trolley loads through the check-out. I have never, I mean never, seen anybody stopped at the checkout because they were a tiny bit pissed or absolutely rat-arsed.
This is very different from a Licensee. If a Licensee sells alcohol to a drunk they commit a criminal offense and can have their Personal License and their Premises License revoked. There goes the old livelihood and savings. Did I mention the level 5 fine – this can be a spot fine of £5,000 for this type of License infringement.
If a drunk manages to get into the stadium he (and it usually is he) melts into the crowd and does not re-appear until he is involved in a brawl where he often gets a workmanlike do’in.
On the other hand, if there was a Licensed area in the stadium concourse, guess where you will find the drunks – not in the stadium, at the bar trying to get one more bevvy – because that is what drunks always do. So, you don’t have to mingle with the crowd to find the drunk, you head out to the Licensed area. It makes perfect sense to position the Licensed area next to an exit.
When you get down to it, the best way to keep drunkenness out of the football ground is to provide a Licensed area with Licensed staff, a Dedicated Premises Supervisor, a couple of bouncers and an exit. Basically, to the drunk this is a fly-trap and the shortest possible distance to the exit.
Of course politicians will come up with all the usual populous claptrap trying to score political points and grabbing the moral high ground. Take it from one of many who knows – politicians know ‘Jack sh*t’ about most things other than spinning and telling lies to garner popularity.
Scotland is a progressive country. This would be a progressive policy. I would monitor a stadium for x months then open a Licensed area and monitor it over the same period and see who is right?