Entering a football stadium without a ticket will become a criminal offence in England and Wales for the first time this weekend, with offenders facing a Football Banning Order of up to five years and a maximum fine of £1,000 ($1,343).
The Football Association has been asking the UK government to take action ever since more than 2,000 ticketless fans forced their way into the final of the pandemic-delayed Euro 2020 Final at Wembley in July 2021. Thousands more rioted outside the ground once the stadium’s doors were shut.
Tailgating in this instance has nothing to do with the American custom of holding pre-game parties in stadium car parks but is the British term for when someone without a ticket closely follows a ticket-holder through a turnstile. Prior to its criminalisation, police could only charge a culprit with suspected fraud, which made prosecution very unlikely.
Efforts by the football authorities to clamp down on it stepped up when the UK and Ireland were awarded the right to host the 2028 European Championships in late 2023, and their prayers were answered when Linsey Farnsworth, a Labour MP for Amber Valley in Derbyshire, introduced a private member’s bill in October 2024.
Getting it through both Houses of Parliament took another year but it received its final reading in January, gained royal assent a week later and becomes law in time for Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley.
The act, which amends the Football (Offences) Act 1991, also makes it illegal to knowingly attempt entry with a forged ticket, pass or accreditation, or by posing as a member of staff or one of the participating teams’ staff.
“Football fans should be able to enjoy the game without feeling unsafe or threatened,” said crime and policing minister Sarah Jones in a Home Office press release.
“We’re giving the police the tools they need to ensure the chaos we saw at Wembley five years ago never happens again. Anyone who endangers others by forcing their way into stadiums faces serious consequences.”
Immediately after the Euro 2020 final, the FA commissioned an independent report into what happened. Baroness Louise Casey, the report’s author, described it as an “appalling scene of disorder” and wrote that “ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs” could have caused deaths at the match between England and Italy.
Her report made numerous recommendations related to the planning of events at Wembley and security at the stadium, but also suggested that the legal framework to deal with tailgating should be significantly tightened.
“Forcing your way into a football match without a ticket isn’t harmless — it jeopardises the safety of legitimate fans and staff,” said Baroness Casey on Friday.
“Making tailgating a criminal offence makes it clear that this behaviour is dangerous, won’t be tolerated and those who do it will face consequences.”
