Bristol City and multiple other clubs will take part in a trial permitting fans to drink alcohol in the stands while watching Championship matches.
This is misleading. The trial is only in the women’s game, involving four Women’s Championship clubs. Drinking in view of the pitch is still banned in the top five tiers of the English men’s game, as it has been since 1985.
Posts being shared on Facebook about a trial permitting fans to drink alcohol in the stands during Championship matches are missing important context—that this is only for some women’s games.
One post that has been liked over 1,600 times says: “Great to hear that Bristol City are among multiple other football clubs who will take part in a trial permitting fans to drink alcohol in the stands while watching Championship matches.”
Other posts on fan pages with similar wording have comments from people on whether they are for or against the plans with references to men’s football teams.
In one post, the wording specifies that: “Bristol City and multiple other clubs will take part in a trial permitting fans to drink alcohol in the stands while watching Sky Bet Championship matches…”
The Sky Bet Championship, also known as the English Football League Championship, is the second tier in men’s football in England.
But what the posts don’t make clear is that the trial is only for certain matches in the second tier of the women’s game—the Barclays Women’s Championship. Consuming alcohol in view of the pitch continues to be banned in the higher-level matches of the men’s game in England, Scotland and Wales.
The trial involves four Women's Championship clubs—Bristol City, Southampton, Birmingham and Newcastle, at selected games at Ashton Gate, St Andrew's, Kingston Park and St Mary's.
Under the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985, drinking alcohol while watching football matches, or “in view of the playing area” is banned in the higher levels of the men’s game in England, Scotland and Wales.
The act was introduced to tackle hooliganism within the sport and “violent and disorderly behaviour” in football grounds.
However, in England the ban only covers the top five men's divisions, which include the Championship, and not the women’s game—although it has been adopted across the top women’s leagues.
Drinking alcohol in the stands was trialled during Bristol City's match against London City Lionesses and Southampton versus Sunderland, on 19 January, and Birmingham against Bristol City, and Newcastle against Portsmouth on 26 January.
Before sharing information you see online, it’s important to consider whether it comes from a trusted and verifiable source.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as missing context because the trial only applies to four clubs in the Women’s Championship, and drinking in view of the pitch continues to be banned in the five tiers of the men’s game.
Full Fact fights for good, reliable information in the media, online, and in politics.
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.