THE Scottish Government would give “serious consideration” to lifting the alcohol ban at football grounds as one MSP said the game has “moved on from the 1980s”.
Selling alcohol at football grounds across Scotland has been banned since 1980 following a riot at the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Rangers which was attributed to drunk fans.
Controversially football supporters can drink alcohol in hospitality, but fans sitting in the ground cannot.
SNP MSP George Adam has now called on the Scottish Government to have a rethink of the ban and said that selling alcohol at football grounds could be done safely if under a controlled environment.
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He said: “Things have moved on in football and we need to look at this as a way of helping football clubs being able to generate more money.
“You already have alcohol at football games in corporate, it’s just a case of finding other areas or zones in grounds to do that and make sure it’s a safe and controlled environment.”
He added: “I think in these challenging economic times it gives them another string to their bow, another chance to make some money as well.
“And that goes back into our football teams, which we all support and hope do well as well.”
Adam used Rugby as an example of how alcohol can be consumed at sporting events and that it still maintains a family-friendly environment.
He also said that smaller clubs in the Scottish football pyramid would benefit hugely from the lift of the ban and was open to the idea of a pilot run to see if it was viable.
Health Secretary Neil Gray responded positively to Adam’s comments as he said: “We’ve not had any proposal yet from football authorities as to what that would look like or how that would be managed, but any proposal will be given serious consideration in light of the situation we’re talking about on the risk to harm.”
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