§ 27. Mr. McNallyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with measures taken thus far by the responsible authorities to combat soccer hooliganism at home and abroad.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneSo long as soccer hooliganism continues, I am not satisfied.
At home there is general acceptance that hooliganism within football grounds is slowly diminishing as the result of preventive measures taken by the responsible authorities. There is still the occasional serious incident, but the majority of these now take place outside the grounds and these are matters for the law and order authorities.
Similarly, most serious incidents abroad also take place outside football grounds. I am concerned, however, that the UEFA rules on ticket distribution and crowd segregation are sometimes ignored in European matches involving British clubs and national sides. Officials of my Department and the Football Association, therefore, now travel to important European matches in advance to offer guidance to the responsible authorities.
I recently outlined to the Football Association a four-point plan for dealing with crowd violence. This included:
- (a) reconstituting the liaison group which carried out much of the pre-planning for the World Cup in Spain last June and helped contribute to the lack of crowd violence there. This group is chaired by the Football Association's chairman and comprises representatives of the Football Association, Football League and officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and of my Department. Following initial discussions, which centred mainly on the forthcoming Greece v England match, it will, as necessary, invite representatives from transport undertakings and the police. The group will have even wider extended membership when dealing with hooliganism at home;
- (b) limiting sales of tickets for matches in Europe involving England to members of the England Football Supporters' Club—should the Football Association decide to take tickets for matches abroad;
- (c) the Football Association to insist that UEFA must ensure that its ground rules and recommendations are followed by host clubs at all matches involving British teams in Europe;
- (d) I intend to meet as soon as possible my opposite numbers from other European countries to seek their co-operation in supporting measures aimed at limiting crowd violence.
§ 58. Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with relevant football, police and travel authorities on the problem of hooliganism related to football matches.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneI set up a liaison group to oversee the arrangements made by the Spanish authorities for dealing with crowd behaviour during last summer's World Cup. The group comprised representatives of the three Football Associations, the relevant Government Departments, the Civil Aviation Authority, British Rail and Sea Link—although not all these representatives met on a regular basis.
The group established good contacts with the soccer, central and local authorities in Spain and I believe that its work made some contribution to the comparatively low level of crowd violence during that competition.
I have now reconvened the liaison group, which is chaired by the chairman of the Football Association. It will oversee the arrangements for matches in Europe involving the national side and club matches of a critical nature. Its membership is to be extended to cover hooliganism at home.
190WI have a continuous dialogue with the chairman of the Football Association.