Prime Minister Andy Burnham has labelled the ban on fans drinking in the stands during men’s football matches as “discrimination”
Bristol City fans during the Robins’ defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s(Image: Andy Fitzsimons)
Just over half of Bristol City fans would like to see the blanket ban on drinking alcohol in view of the pitch retained, a survey conducted by the Robins’ Supporters Club and Trust has found, amid suggestions Ashton Gate would be open to holding a trial to allow supporters to drink in stands.
Football fans have been unable to drink alcohol in view of the pitch since 1985. The ban was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government, with then-Home Secretary Leon Brittain believing alcohol was a “major contributory factor” in violent and disorderly behaviour at football grounds.
Prime minister Andy Burnham has, however, sparked debate about whether the ban should be lifted. He has described the ban as discrimination, insisting he doesn’t believe it is fair for football fans to be “singled out,” with it possible a change could be trialled.
City CEO Charlie Boss has opened the door for such a potential trial to be hosted at Ashton Gate. The Robins’ ground has allowed supporters of Charlotte Healy’s Women’s side to drink in the stands since early 2025, when BS3 was selected as one of four pilot venues.
“I don’t have a strong view on whether or not bringing alcohol into the stands will change the experience for the most,” the Robins’ CEO explained in an interview with the Press Association.
“But I think it’s really worth exploring anything that might make the football experience better, so long as we keep that really safe, welcoming environment that modern football has become.
“If the government and all the different stakeholders involved thought it was the right thing to start trialling to see what it would look like to have alcohol during the game in men’s football, we would be really open to having those trials here at Ashton Gate.”
The potential lifting of the ban has split football supporters, who have voiced their opinions on social media, since the prime minister first raised the possibility of changes being implemented.
In order to get a better understanding of where City fans sit on the issue, the Robins’ Supporters Club and Trust published a survey that more than 2,700 Reds supporters completed to share their stance on the alcohol ban.
The headline result from the survey is that 53 per cent of supporters said that they wanted the blanket ban to be retained. Behind that main talking point, however, 85 per cent of fans were in favour of removing the ban in hospitality areas, where currently curtains have to be drawn across pitch-facing windows in boxes and lounges. 58 per cent of fans surveyed were in favour of users of boxes and lounges being able to take drinks to their seat.
In general admission areas, though, the survey found that the majority of fans in home areas didn’t want drinking allowed in their block. 63 per cent of people surveyed in the Dolman Stand, 59 per cent in the South Stand, 63 per cent in the Lansdown Upper and 67 per cent in the Lansdown Lower felt that way.
(Image: Kieran McManus/Shutterstock)
But across all three stands, a sizeable minority – 38 per cent – of fans said that they would like drinking allowed in their block. In a crowd of 20,000 supporters, that would translate to more than 7,500 wanting the ban to be lifted in their part of the ground.
Of that 38 per cent, 29 per cent of fans said they would aim to move to a part of Ashton Gate where drinking is allowed, if it wasn’t permitted in their current block.
The survey did ask for fans to select which age bracket they sat in and their gender. When it came to age, the strongest opposition to the possible lifting of the ban came from those aged 65+, with 62 per cent of that age group voting against its removal. The greatest support for a change came from the 21-40 age group, where 57 per cent voted in favour.
The split between male and female fans was reasonably equal, with 65 per cent of women not wanting drinking allowed in their block, compared to 62 per cent of men.
Stu Rogers, the City Supporters’ Club and Trust’s Chair, said on the issue, “While as a board we agree that the blanket ban is outdated and discriminatory, the results of our survey make it very clear that if the ban is lifted at some future date, the club should take fully into account the wishes of the majority of fans who have concerns about how the drinking of alcohol in view of the pitch during games at Ashton Gate might affect them.”
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