Football is ready to bring in stadium closures to clamp down on the “worrying and ugly trend” of hooliganism which has become a blight on the game.
The Football Association will join forces with the Premier League, EFL and other organisations like the Professional Footballers’ Association and League Managers’ Association to put forward a united front against the growing crisis within the sport.
They are planning to issue a joint statement and joint commitment before the start of the 2022-23 season which leans towards stronger action and is set to include enforced stadium closures if there are repeated incidents at the grounds of football clubs. That is the ultimate threat after the ugly scenes which shamed football towards the end of last season which included Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp being head butted by a fan who was later jailed after a pitch invasion during the play-off game with Nottingham Forest.
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira was also involved in a shocking incident when Everton fans invaded the pitch in the final game of the season at Goodison Park. Manchester City also apologised after Aston Villa keeper Robin Olsen was punched by fans on the final day during a pitch invasion and celebrations at the Etihad.
FA chair Debbie Hewitt said: “It's a worrying and ugly trend. The pitch is sacred and players, match officials and coaches have to be able to play in a safe environment. If you look at some of the footage that happens at the end of last season, it was disturbing and anything but safe for those players and indeed for some of those fans that invaded the pitch. It's a huge concern and we are working in the FA to put in place the toughest possible sanctions that we can. I think the thing that pleased me when we started to have the debate when we first saw this trend appearing (the assumption was) 'oh the clubs won't want, the clubs will reject it', and actually anything but.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should the FA punish clubs for the actions of a minority? Let us know in the comments section
“I was at a session with all of the Premier League clubs a week or so ago and every club in that room were saying: 'we have to put in place tougher sanctions'. There was absolutely no resistance, complete and utter alignment on what we need to do. We plan probably the week before the new season starts to make a statement on that.”
When asked whether that meant stadium closures, she added: “I'd like the strongest possible sanctions that we can have, so I think that says enough about what we'll be bringing in.”
There were crunch talks at the end of the season after the trouble and plans are also in place to increase stewarding, clubs will use their own stewards to travel to away games to identify and spot trouble makers plus also a push for more prosecutions as pitch invasions are illegal. Premier League clubs will use more specialist “spotters” to identify troublemakers and trouble hot spots within grounds in the hope of clamping down on the issue.
Meanwhile, the FA will also take a delegation to Qatar on Sunday to discuss the issues surrounding human rights and migrant workers ahead of the World Cup this winter. England players have discussed making a public statement, captain Harry Kane has spoken to counterparts like Hugo Lloris from other nations about an action plan and Hewitt believes that playing in Qatar will at least “shine a light.”
She added: “I think that responsibility comes back to a legacy and there’s a lot of talk before the tournament and where we can unite with other federations - and I do think that’s important where it’s united we will stand - to leave a legacy behind that shines a light on the issues.
"We can put in place some solutions and that can overall be a positive thing. Having spoken to a lot of migrant workers, if you ask them the question point blank: would you rather us boycott or would you rather be here shining a light? They say, certainly the very significant number that I have spoken to, would say: ‘we want you to shine a light.’”
