Football Banning Orders: consultation

Questions

Introduction

Football is Scotland’s national sport. More than 5 million supporters attended Scottish Professional Football League matches during the 2024-25 season. The vast majority of them were well behaved and attended matches to support their teams, however some games were marred by disorder.

An FBO can be applied to prohibit a person from attending any regulated football match in the United Kingdom. It is a court order that restricts a person’s ability to attend football matches. An FBO can be imposed on a person over 16 years if they are convicted of an offence, and the offence involved the person engaging in violence or disorder related to a football match.

About you

Question 1: Do you attend football matches in Scotland?

Frequently (11+ per season)

Occasionally (1 to 10 per season)

Never

Question 2: Have you ever been given a Football Banning Order?

Yes

No

Question 3: Are you involved in running regulated football matches in Scotland?

Yes

No

Question 4: If you selected ‘yes’ to question 3, who do you represent?

Football Club

Match Officials

Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL)

Football Safety Officers

Scottish Football Association (SFA)

Steward or Security officer

Police Scotland

Other

If you selected ‘other, please provide details:

About your experience of football in Scotland

During 2024-25 and previous seasons, there has been continued and frequent use of pyrotechnics at football stadiums across Scotland. Taking a pyrotechnic into a football stadium, and pyrotechnic misuse in football stadiums, is illegal. It poses danger to those using the pyrotechnic, fellow supporters, stadium security, police officers, players and match officials. Similarly, missiles have continued to be thrown onto the pitch endangering players and officials. Several players have been struck with objects such as coins, culminating in the former Aberdeen FC player Jack MacKenzie being hit and injured by part of a stadium chair, which was thrown onto the pitch on 17 May 2025.

Football clubs can ban their supporters from their own stadium if they are engaging in disruptive or disorderly conduct or breaching stadium rules. Club bans are an important measure which can be taken but they are limited to only one stadium and carry no criminal consequences, unlike an FBO, where a person commits a criminal offence if they breach the order’s conditions and can offer a wider deterrent to football supporters. The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has been applying sanctions to some SPFL clubs in season 2024-25 for the conduct and behaviour of their supporters. These are significant steps which both the clubs and football authorities can and have taken to try and address ongoing disorder at football matches.

Question 5. In your experience, has the behaviour of football fans in Scotland changed in the last 10 years?

Behaviour is a lot better

Behaviour is a little better

Behaviour has not changed

Behaviour is a little worse

Behaviour is a lot worse

Don’t know

Question 6: If football fans’ behaviour has worsened in your experience, what has changed? Please select all that apply or provide comments in the box below:

Alcohol misuse

Drug misuse

Throwing missiles

Verbal abuse

Abusive behaviour based on protected characteristics

Sectarian behaviour

Possession of pyrotechnics

Setting off pyrotechnics

Abuse of match officials

Abuse of police officers

Abuse of match stewards

Online abuse

Other

If you selected ‘other’, please provide details:

Question 7. Have you been discouraged from attending football matches in Scotland because of any of the behaviours you have identified in question 6?

Yes

No

Any other comments:

Question 8: Would you like to see more done to tackle and prevent the behaviours identified at question 6? If yes, please use the textbox below to explain your answer and suggest what action might be taken.

Yes

No

Comments:

Question 9: Do you think the police, criminal justice system, football authorities or football clubs are doing enough to address disorder by supporters at football matches?

Yes

No

If you selected ‘no’ please provide details:

Football Banning Orders

The Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) introduced FBOs in Scotland. The provisions came into force in September 2006.

A FBO is a measure which the court can make in addition to, or instead of, any sentence when a person is convicted of an offence. The primary purpose of an FBO is to prevent the person attending football matches. Under the current legislation, it does this by prohibiting the individual from attending any premises in which a regulated football match^[1] is being played in the UK. It can also require the person to report to a police station when certain regulated football matches are played overseas^[2]. For the duration of the FBO, the person commits an offence if they breach the conditions of the order. FBOs were introduced to tackle problematic fan behaviour, in particular violence and disorder, by banning individuals from the places they were most likely to commit these acts.

Criteria for an FBO to be applied by the court

The 2006 Act provides that, where a person is convicted of an offence and the person was aged over 16 at the time the offence was committed, if the court is satisfied as to the following three criteria, then an FBO can be granted:

i. the offence involved the person who committed it engaging in violence or disorder.

ii. the offence related to a football match.

iii. that there are reasonable grounds to believe that making an FBO would help prevent violence or disorder at or in connection with football matches.

Violence is defined in the 2006 Act as “violence against a person or intentional damage to property and includes threatening violence and doing anything which endangers the life of a person”.

Disorder is defined as including:

i. stirring up hatred against a specific group of people based on their membership (or presumed membership) of a group defined by reference to colour, race, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origins, membership of a religious group or a social/cultural group with a perceived religious affiliation, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability;

ii. using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour;

iii. displaying any writing or other thing which is threatening, abusive or insulting.

The offence the person is convicted of must be considered by the court to meet the definitions of either violence or disorder set out in the 2006 Act.

An offence relates to a football match if committed at a football match, or while entering or leaving the ground where the match is held; on a journey to or from a football match; or if the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by a football match. An FBO can only be given to someone over the age of 16.

A person who receives an FBO must report to a police station within five days of when the order is made. For the duration of the FBO the person must update the Football Banning Order Authority (a statutory body, which is defined as the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland) of any changes of certain circumstances.

Further additional requirements can be imposed if the sheriff considers they would help prevent violence or disorder at, or in connection with, any football match. Examples include prohibiting the person from: entering exclusion zones around football stadiums on match days; using public transport on match days; visiting potential ‘hot spots’, such as town centres, pubs and bars during risk periods; and attending amateur/junior matches. The person can also be required to report to a police station and/or to surrender their passport for a period of time if this is considered necessary or expedient to reduce the likelihood of violence or disorder at, or in connection with, a regulated match outside the United Kingdom.

The FBO period cannot exceed 10 years. If an FBO is imposed where no sentence of imprisonment has also been imposed, then it cannot exceed five years.

Question 10: Do you think a Football Banning Order, which prevents individuals from attending football matches if they are found guilty of an offence of violence or disorder related to a football match, is a suitable punishment for a football-related offence?

Yes

No

Question 11: Do you think Football Banning Orders should be extended to include other behaviours which can be prosecuted as an offence but do not include behaviour or actions which meet the definition of violence or disorder, as set out above, such as possessing drugs or an offensive weapon?

Yes

No

If yes, what behaviour(s) should be covered:

An FBO prohibits an individual from attending any “Regulated Football Match” in the UK. This covers the vast majority of matches taking place in the UK, including all the top four leagues in Scotland, the top seven leagues in England and the top two leagues in Wales. In relation to Scottish football, the matches not covered are those where both participating teams are not members of the Scottish Football Association, which covers a minority of junior and women’s football matches.

Question 12: The definition of a ‘Regulated Football Match’ in the 2006 Act does not include all matches that take place in Scotland. Do you think this definition should be expanded to include all football matches?

Yes

No

The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022

Pyrotechnic misuse has increased in Scottish football over the last decade. During the 2024-25 season there were high profile incidents pre, mid and post-match. In November 2024, both Scottish League Cup semi-final kick-offs were delayed due to pyrotechnic misuse. Three of the four clubs involved were subsequently found to have breached SPFL rules and were sanctioned for their supporters’ conduct.

The misuse of pyrotechnics at and within Scottish football stadiums before, during and after matches is against the law and is dangerous to the person using the pyrotechnic, fellow supporters, match stewards, police officers, players and officials. Significant injuries have been inflicted through the misuse of pyrotechnics.

The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) introduced new offences related to pyrotechnics and gave the police stop and search powers where they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person may be in possession of a pyrotechnic in a public place, which are relevant to football matches.

The 2022 Act makes it an offence to possess a pyrotechnic article in a public place or at a designated event, including the vast majority of football matches taking place in Scotland. This means football match attendees travelling to a game or entering a stadium with a pyrotechnic article in their possession are committing an offence. The penalty for these offences is up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

The 2022 Act also grants police the power to search individuals without warrant where they suspect a person has committed or is committing an offence under the Act. Police also entitled to stop and search a vehicle without a warrant if they suspect the same. They may also seize and retain any item found during a search which may be relevant to the commission of the offence.

An offence of possessing a pyrotechnic at or around a regulated football match under the 2022 Act would not automatically lead to a sheriff being able to grant an FBO as part of the sentence for conviction. Any football-related breach of the 2022 Act would need to meet the threshold of violence or disorder in the 2006 Act before an FBO could currently be granted.

Question 13: Do you think a sheriff should be able to consider applying a Football Banning Order on conviction for the offences mentioned under the 2022 Act in every case?

Yes

No

Maybe

Any other comments:

England and Wales

There is separate legislation in England and Wales for FBOs, the Football Spectators Act 1989 (the 1989 Act). In England and Wales, the specific connection with violence or disorder was removed from the 1989 Act in 2022. In England and Wales, an FBO applies only where a relevant offence has been committed. Relevant offences are listed in the legislation. There is also a presumption that FBOs will be made on conviction for all listed offences, unless the court considers it unjust to do so. This presumption has been in place since August 2000. It means the court must make an FBO in respect of the offender, unless it considers there are circumstances relating to the offence or the offender which would make it unjust to do so.

In Scotland, there is no such presumption. If an FBO is to be imposed, the court must consider it will help prevent violence and disorder. The court can consider the wider circumstances of the case, in line with Scottish Sentencing Guidelines^[3], and whether a fine or other sentencing disposal is considered sufficient for a football-related offence involving violence or disorder without an FBO.

The offences listed in the 1989 Act^[4] in England and Wales mainly concern violence and disorder but do extend further. For example, they include any offence under section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872 (persons found drunk in public places, etc.) committed by a drunk person on a highway or in a public place while travelling to or from a football match.

Changes made to the 1989 Act in England and Wales in 2022 also included the addition of the offence of online hate crime. Football-related online offences of abusive behaviour and threatening communications which involve race, sexuality, religion, disability or transgender identity were added to Schedule 1 of the 1989 Act.

In Scotland, online hate crime offences are not covered in the same way because, unlike the Football Spectators Act, the specific offences which attract an FBO are not explicitly set out. In Scotland, the offence would have to satisfy the violence or disorder threshold in the 2006 Act.

Question 14: When someone is found guilty of a football-related offence for which an FBO can be granted there is a presumption in England and Wales that an FBO be applied. In Scotland, no such presumption exists. Do you think there should be a presumption an FBO will be granted upon conviction of a football-related offence in Scotland?

Yes

No

Question 15: Do you have any further comments on how you believe the current legislation can be improved?

Comments: