Football fans face five-year ban in new crackdown on certain offences committed

Football fans face a five-year ban in a new crackdown on certain offences committed inside and outside stadiums on matchdays.

The new punishment will be given the green light this week due to growing rise of hooligans high on cocaine found to be causing trouble.

Recent figures show that the number of fans arrested for disorder went up by 50 per cent in the first half of the season while cocaine is being blamed by football authorities for the scenes that took place at Wembley for the Euros final between England and Italy last year.

There have been a further 800 arrests in grounds throughout the Premier League, EFL and non league for missile throwing, pitch incursion and hate crimes, and 100 of that for drugs.

Reports claim that fans have been seen snorting cocaine from their seats with police officers worried that will overtake alcohol as a cause of matchday violence, even though there is a proposal to allow fans to drink alcohol again from the stands.

Home Secretary Priti Patel wants banning orders in football to be dished out for violent behaviour, pitch invasion or racist chanting with that also extending to Class A drug offences.

Anyone caught with cocaine on them or to have taken it and are under the influence of the drug at a match would be barred for three to five years.

The is even claims that the individual found with it or on it could be ordered to give up their passport.

A Home Office source said: “Coked-up hooligans shouldn’t be able to ruin a match for others.

“These new banning orders will see them kicked out of the stands.”

Drug use was highlighted by an FA-ordered report following the Euros while traces of cocaine have been found at five Premier League grounds.

Reporter Liam Coleman writes than an investigation was launched with every ground swabbed having traces of an class A drug.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, warned that more fans than ever were ­taking the drug at games, creating a “toxic mix” of violence and wants to see tougher punishments.

He said: “As we see more violent incidents, cocaine is one of those factors along with alcohol that will make it worse, and make people more violent.”

The investigation also found that lines had been ‘racked up’ on top of toilet roll holders at Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, while reporter Liam Coleman was offered “charlie” outside a Brighton match back in December.

There was an empty drug bags and one containing cocaine found on a cubicle floor at Man City, while traces of it were also spotted on top of toilets at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

Cocaine detection wipes on toilets at Man City, Spurs, Brighton, Chelsea and Arsenal in December found that 44 out of the 58 swabbed cubicles tested positive for cocaine.

Chief Constable Mark Roberts adds: Cocaine is now more common in broader society than ever before, and that includes football clubs and football fans.

“It’s an issue with society, but that being said it is then clearly going to impact football as well.

“Where people are high on emotions which you do get in football, and then you add in cocaine use, that’s a pretty toxic mix as how people behave and it often leads to extreme violence.

“It’s really difficult to police, frankly, unless you do full-body searches on people, and then you’re still probably not going to find it anyway.

“It’s something that’s easy to smuggle into the ground.

“People can discreetly take it, probably easier than drinking a pint, so the hope will be we work with clubs and identify measures to make it just a bit harder for fans to take drugs.

“Whether that is putting liquids on toilet cisterns, having regular checks and sniffer dogs at every ground.”

Brighton say they were “increasingly concerned” about the use of cocaine at matches.

“We will continue to take all necessary and possible steps to prevent any illegal substance coming into our stadium, and we will continue to impose very severe sanctions on anyone found to be carrying or using any illegal substance in or around our stadium.”

The Premier League condemns the use of drugs at stadiums, and say clubs are working with police to tackle the problem.

A spokesman said: “Possession or use of cocaine is a criminal offence and can result in a football banning order. Ground regulations clearly state that drugs are prohibited and measures such as detection dogs are used frequently to combat it.

“Our clubs continue to work closely with police on this issue.”