Andy Burnham's football booze plot risks spoiling the experience for everybody - and if one person gets hurt, it will have been a failure, writes LUKE POWER

Published: 10:22 EDT, 24 September 2026 | Updated: 10:52 EDT, 24 September 2026 If Andy Burnham seriously wants to reintroduce alcohol into the stands at the football, he should first be showered with Carlsberg by a rowdy gang of revellers. He should then let the gaggle of drinkers do the same to his family or friends - or whichever politician he wants to hang out at a match with. And then he should cram into a tight passageway for 100 minutes and let people brush past him with armfuls of beer, spilling it on his running shorts and making the floor stickier than a cheap nightclub in Freshers' Week. Call it dramatic, but that is the fate that potentially awaits football fans if Burnham's plot to revive the reign of booze in the stands comes to fruition. The Prime Minister is a genuine football man and means well, but is it a fate any of us really want?The average British matchgoer is well-behaved and respectful but the truth is that all it takes is one rotten egg to spoil the experience for many others. Andy Burnham's plan to allow booze in the stands is a risk to the safety and pleasant experience of fans A parent taking their son or daughter to their first game, or a lifelong follower attending a match for their 80th birthday, shouldn't have to worry about sticky substances and plastic cups raining down from above. They shouldn't have to deal with the complications that can arise with a lager lout getting rowdy, or the irritation of people shuffling past throughout the game. The UK Football Policing Unit has warned that giving supporters easier access to alcohol would be 'irresponsible' as it could fuel more 'violent and disorderly behaviour'.There is even the risk that players end up having booze or, worse, containers thrown at them. And at the end of the day, it's a much mightier clean-up job for the stadium staff.Many clubs will want it because it would allow them to generate greater revenue and you can bet your bottom dollar that particular institutions would rinse fans for all they've got. Burnham's idea also has support from the Football Supporters' Association, who said: 'It’s unfair to criminalise fans for having a pint. We think that the legislation is outdated and deserves to be reviewed.' It is worth thinking carefully about. Women's football and other sports make it work, but their atmospheres in general carry less edge. Perhaps, after a trial, having specific alcohol-approved sections could be welcome. But if one person gets hurt, it will have been a failure.