The Premier League, Football League and FA have launched a supporter education campaign on the danger of pyrotechnics at football grounds. The authorities report that research among fans shows supporters would like more knowledge on how to address it.
At grounds, clubs may use pyrotechnic detection dogs or offer amnesty bins; or search incoming fans. Of the 172 reported pyrotechnic incidents in the 2012/13 season, 164 were by away supporters. The users of flares are young; the average age of supporters arrested for pyrotechnic use is 20. Little disorder was reported as a direct result of their use.
The research, with 1,635 Premier League supporters, found that 87 per cent of fans believe that pyrotechnics such as flares and smoke bombs are dangerous at matches, and that 86 per cent were concerned for their safety. The same number think flares and smoke bombs are a fire risk and 79 per cent consider them to be a health hazard.
To help better inform fans who are not aware, clubs throughout the Premier League, Football League and Football Conference will be supporting a new campaign on the dangers of pyrotechnics by running adverts in their grounds and in programmes and websites.
The campaign features posters parodying football chants, such as ‘que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we’re going to A&E’. It also has an online presence www.facepyrofacts.co.uk and examples of how pyrotechnics are not, as pyro users attest, ‘innocent fun’, but can have serious repercussions. Among the facts in the advertising are that it is illegal to enter a football ground with a pyro and that supporters risk jail and banning orders even for being in possession of one.
Flares are used for marine distress and are designed not to be extinguished easily or quickly. They contain chemicals and burn at temperatures of 1600 degrees C, the melting point of steel. Smoke bombs are mainly used recreationally in paintballing and war games, but these also burn at high temperatures and are designed to be used in wide open spaces. They are dangerous for those with asthma or breathing difficulties and can cause panic in a tightly packed crowd. They are not designed for use in confined spaces and it is illegal to enter a football stadium with one and set it off.
The authorities report that children as young as eight have been found smuggling pyrotechnics into grounds on behalf of adults.
Chris Whalley, The FA’s senior manager of stadia safety and security, said: “The use of pyrotechnics in the closed environment of a football stadium presents a clear health and safety risk to spectators and can spoil other supporters’ enjoyment of the game. It is also a criminal offence and supporters taking pyrotechnics into a football stadium could face a long ban from attending matches. Fans can help everyone by keeping our stadia safe and smoke-free.”
The use of pyrotechnics is a relatively new phenomenon in English football, with the trend imported from Europe where the issue is much more prevalent. It is described as a rising issue: in the 2010-11 season there were eight incidents across the Premier League, Football League and Football Conference and the domestic cup competitions. In 2011-12 this rose to 72 and last season it jumped to 172 incidents. During the 2013-14 season (up to the end of October 2013) there has been 96 incidents.
Although the use of pyrotechnics is still rare, 78 per cent of those surveyed would support more action against the proliferation of flares and smoke bombs. More than half of fans have now witnessed pyrotechnics at a match, and 36 per cent have been directly affected: 24 per cent have had their view of the match obscured, 10 per cent have suffered from smoke inhalation and 2 per cent have been affected by heat from a flare.
Recent examples
Recent examples of injuries caused by pyrotechnics at English football grounds
•Leeds United v Shrewsbury Town, 11 August 2012 – two supporters were injured, one requiring hospital treatment, when an industrial firework was ignited and thrown in the away supporters’ toilet.
•Coventry City v Walsall, 8 December 2012 – a flare was discharged by the Walsall supporters. A steward placed his foot on the device to prevent further smoke escaping, however the sole of his shoe melted causing injury.
•Leicester City v Sheffield Wednesday, 9 March 2013 – a female supporter received treatment for burns to her leg from one of the smoke bombs thrown between supporters.
•Bolton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town, 2 April 2013 – Bolton supporters ignited a flare and an 18 year old youth was treated for burns picking it up.
•West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United, 20 April 2013 – fans were treated for shrapnel wounds following the setting off of thunder flashes. Debris passed through jeans and caused cuts to legs.
•Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa, May 2013 – a 15-year-old boy suffered lung damage from a smoke bomb thrown during the game. The boy needed hospital treatment, while two women aged 22 and 24, also required attention for the effects of the device.
•Liverpool v Everton, May 2013 – an eight year Everton fan was hit by a smoke bomb thrown by fans in the away end. He was treated for a burn on his neck on his first visit to a Merseyside derby.
•Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur on 20 October 2013 – an assistant referee was struck by a lit smoke canister thrown from the stand.
•In November 2013 a Manchester United fan that set off a smoke bomb during their clash with West Bromwich Albion – Sir Alex Ferguson’s last game in charge – was given a two month jail term (suspended for 12 months) and banned from any football grounds for three years.
•In February 2013 two Chelsea fans were jailed for 28 days and given six year football banning orders for taking smoke bombs into the Liberty Stadium for a match versus Swansea City. Their appeal for the sentence was thrown out.
•In January 2013 an 18 year old Exeter City fan was jailed for two months and given a six year banning order for attempting to take a smoke bomb into Torquay United v Exeter City.
•In August 2012 an Oxford United fan was jailed for two months and given a six year banning order for taking a smoke bomb into Home Park for a match versus Plymouth Argyle.
After trouble on Friday evening, December 6, at Fir Park Stadium, Celtic Football Club issued precautionary suspensions against 128 people preventing them attending matches involving Celtic, pending further investigation. These suspensions will cover matches at Celtic Park and away matches. The Scottish Premier League club will be relocating around 250 season book holders in Section 111 to other areas within the stadium, or offering refunds covering the remainder of the season to those who do not wish to be relocated.
In a statement on December 9 the club said: “Events such as those on Friday night do not represent the Celtic support or the club. These events were an embarrassment to our great football club and are absolutely indefensible. It is clear that there is an element which has no hesitation in bringing Celtic’s name into disrepute. This is something the club will not tolerate and we therefore have no other option but to take this action. We will not allow the great name of Celtic to be damaged in this way any more – our supporters deserve more than this.”
