What football can do to tackle rise of hooliganism and why it must act now

Pitch invasions by lone fans at Arsenal, Birmingham and Hibernian over the weekend have provoked widespread criticism, with some politicians and pundits wondering if they represent a return to British football’s hooligan era.

Here, Press Association Sport explains what measures are in place, how the authorities have reacted and what can be done to address these problems.

What actually happened?

On Sunday, an Arsenal fan ran onto the pitch during their game against Manchester United and pushed United’s Chris Smalling. The fan was arrested and charged, and will be banned.

But the most serious incident occurred in the Birmingham-Aston Villa game, when a Birmingham fan entered the pitch and knocked Villa captain Jack Grealish to the ground with a punch from behind. Grealish was not seriously hurt and later scored the winner. The 27-year-old fan has already pleaded guilty to assault.

How has football reacted?

Players and pundits have had their say on social media and in interviews. All have expressed anger and disgust at what happened but no consensus has emerged on what can be done to prevent this from happening again or from stopping something even worse next time. A statement from Grealish was read in court on Monday. In it, he said he felt lucky the incident was not more serious, as his assailant could have been carrying a weapon. This clearly chimed with former Wales international David Cotterill, as he told BBC Radio Wales it was perhaps time to consider armed police at games.

What about the clubs and football authorities?

The relevant leagues also issued their own condemnations and the Football Association and Scottish Football Association have opened investigations. The FA said on Monday afternoon that “a line had been crossed”.

The Football Safety Officers Association, which represents stewards, and Sports Ground Safety Authority, the government agency responsible for safety at stadiums, have both spoken out, although they have made the point that the vast majority of fans are well behaved and these are isolated incidents.

Are they right?

That, however, does not change the fact this has been a bad season for fans’ behaviour. There have been several examples of racist and sectarian abuse, in all parts of the country and all levels of the game, prompting new sports minister Mims Davies to convene an anti-discrimination summit last month.

There was also a serious fight before the Millwall-Everton FA Cup game that was caught on camera and widely shared on social media.

What can be done about it, then?

Home and away fans have been segregated since the 1970s, fans cannot drink in sight of the pitch, high-risk games are moved earlier to reduce pre-game drinking and every club uses CCTV to monitor crowds and identify troublemakers.

There are guidelines for stewards on how to deal with pitch invasions, which are against the law, and thousands of fans have received banning orders. The clubs and the authorities believe they have made huge strides in making games safer and nobody wants to see the return of fences at British grounds.

So is that it?

No, there is a recognition that football must address this before it is deemed to have got out of hand. As mentioned above, the three fans who invaded the pitch broke the law and will be dealt with. The criminal process takes precedence but the FA and SFA, who are the responsible sporting bodies, have already starting gathering evidence, in terms of the referees’ reports, observations from the clubs and statements from police and safety experts. Once all the perpetrators have been identified and dealt with by the clubs and courts, if applicable, the FAs will then decide if the clubs face disciplinary charges. The key issue is whether they took adequate precautions or not – did they have enough stewards, were they properly trained, did they do their jobs and so on.

What sanctions could the FAs apply?