Legislation

The legislative backdrop for safety at sports grounds is complex.

There are a number of pieces of legislation that relates to safety at sports grounds.  Below we have outlined details of the relevant legislation.

Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975

The Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 (the 1975 Act) came into force, following the Wheatley Committee recommendations in response to the large number of spectators who had died in a disaster at Ibrox Park, Glasgow in 1971. Whilst the legislation is 50 years old, it still remains the fundamental legislation for sports ground safety certification.

Under the 1975 Act, the Secretary of State (for Culture, Media and Sport) may designate any sports ground with accommodation for more than 10,000 spectators (or more than 5,000 spectators for grounds hosting Premier League / English Football League matches) as requiring a safety certificate to admit spectators.

It also gives local authorities powers to issue such safety certificates to confirm that such sports grounds are safe.

The 1975 Act defines a sports ground as ‘a place where sports or other competitive activities take place in the open air, and where accommodation has been provided for spectators, consisting of artificial structures, or of natural structures artificially modified for the purpose’.

The 1975 Act does not apply, however, to indoor arenas where sports are played.

The Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 prevents

• drunken entry into a football ground;
• the consumption of alcohol within view of the playing area during the restricted period (15 minutes before the start of the event to 15 minutes after the end of the event), including hospitality rooms within the ground from which the event may be directly viewed;
• the consumption of alcohol on certain coaches, trains and motor vehicles travelling to a designated football match;
• the possession of fireworks or flares.

It applies to football matches in which one or both of the participating teams represents a club which is for the time being a member (whether a full or associate member) of the Football League, Premier League, National League, or Welsh Premier League, or represents a country or territory.

The Fire Safety and Safely of Places of Sport Act 1987 (the 1987 Act) was introduced following the 1985 Bradford Fire Disaster.

The 1987 Act extends the provisions for local authority safety certification to include covered stands with accommodation for more than 500 spectators in sports grounds not designated under the 1975 Act. These are known as ‘regulated stands’.

Under the provisions of the 1987 Act, the local authority is required to determine whether any, and if so which, of the stands at sports grounds in its area are regulated stands. In making that determination, the local authority is required to follow the statutory guidance given in Home Office Circular 97/1988.

The Football Spectators Act 1989 was introduced as a result of the Hillsborough Disaster. It was created to control the admissions of spectators at designated football matches in England and Wales.

This is defined in the  Football Spectators (Designation of Football Matches in England and Wales) Order 2000 as matches taking place in international stadia and at Premier League / English Football League grounds.

The Football Licensing Authority (now the Sports Grounds Safety Authority) was established under this legislation to:

• issue licences to admit spectators to designated matches, and
• oversee local authorities’ safety certification functions at international stadia and Premier League / English Football League grounds in England and Wales.

The Football Licensing Authority was replaced by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) in 2011 (under the Sports Grounds Safety Authority Act 2011). However, the regulatory responsibilities remain the same.

Under section 4(6) of the 2001 Act, stewards employed directly by a sports ground (in-house stewards) carrying out licensable activities at certified sports grounds are exempt from licensing by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), as long as the sports ground is covered by a safety certificate. This is commonly known as the ‘SIA sports ground exemption’.

The exemption applies at designated sports grounds under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 or that contain regulated stands under the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987.

Employees of a visiting team to such premises are also exempt provided that the visiting team has a certified sports ground or stand.

For a more precise description of the exemption see Section 4(6) to 4(12) of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 as amended and the explanatory notes to section 63 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006.

Sports Grounds Safety Authority Act 2011

The Sports Ground Safety Authority Act 2011 created the SGSA, taking over the roles and responsibilities of the Football Licensing Authority (FLA).

It also established an advisory role for the SGSA for general safety at sports grounds outside England and Wales and for sports other than football.

Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, clubs must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that spectators are not exposed to health and safety risks. Failure to do so is a criminal offence punishable by an unlimited fine.

If a fan is injured as a result of a club’s failure to prevent a known safety risk, this is likely to be an offence under the Act.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 a club could be liable for prosecution and unlimited fines if a fan is killed as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care.

This could be relevant if there were to be a systemic safety failure at a ground that the club’s management knew about and failed to take action.

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (sometimes referred to as the fire safety RRO) imposes a requirement on a venue’s management to risk assess, plan, organise, control, monitor and review the necessary preventive and protective measures against the risk of fire and to record these arrangements in writing.

Similar approaches are adopted in Regulations under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Licensing Act 2003. These requirements will all apply to some degree to sports grounds.

Under the Fire Safety Regulatory Reform Order 2005 the local authority is the enforcing authority for fire safety related issues at sports grounds. For indoor venues that responsibility remains with the fire authority for indoor arenas.

The Government published a guidance note intended to help enforcing authorities better understand their duties under this Order. Article 25 provides further recommendations around the procedural impacts.

Football (Offences) Act 1991

The Football (Offences) Act 1991 created the following arrestable offences:

1. to throw anything onto the playing surface, or at any spectator
2. to chant any racist remarks which are threatening, abusive, or insulting by race or colour
3. or to enter onto the playing surface.

Safety of Sports Grounds Regulations 1987

These Regulations outlined the necessary procedural approach in enforcing the objectives of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and thus promoted consistency of approach by those involved. The changes brought the Regulations in line with those associated with the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987