David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, believes introducing tailgating and pitch invasion laws in Scotland would enable Police Scotland officers to prevent fans from entering grounds without tickets and encroaching onto the field of play and help to keep crowds safe from harm.
MPs at Westminster passed the Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act 2026 back in January and it came in to force in England and Wales – but not in this country – in March.
Jibbing through turnstiles, using counterfeit tickets and forcing open fire exits is now a designated criminal offence which is punishable with fines of up to £1000 and Football Banning Orders of up to five years.
Courts down south are also able to convict anyone who enters the field of play under the Football Offences Act (1991) – but in this country they have to prove an offender has had violent intent in order to prosecute them for breach of the peace.
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Members of the Football Safety Officers Association Scotland have received positive feedback from their counterparts in England and Wales about the tailgating law and have urged the SFA and SPFL to pursue the matter.
The SPFL revealed they are set to speak to MSPs at Holyrood, who are committed to changing the wording of the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 and increasing the reach of banning orders, about new legislation.
Kennedy, who was concerned by the trouble which flared at the end of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox last month and after the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Parkhead, feels it is worth pursuing.
“I think it would be a good thing,” he said. “I don't know the ins and outs of the law around it, but I think it can only be a good thing if it gives police officers the power to actually arrest somebody and it stops people doing it. I do think it would make people think twice about it.
“We need to look at what problems we have and decide what law there needs to be to help police, to help communities and to help to ensure the safety of everybody who goes to football matches. If you're breaking an actual law then it becomes quite straightforward. The law is there, the law is in place.
“They've been trying to take policing out of football for years, but the reality is that at the moment they clearly can't. So they have to do as much as they can to make sure that any sporting event is safe to attend. I absolutely think we have to do something.”
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The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 was repealed by MSPs in 2018 – but Kennedy can not envisage any issues arising from tailgating or pitch invasion legislation.
“I think it would be a help,” he said. “We have to allow police officers to decide for themselves what the circumstances are. You have to allow officers to make that choice. That's been a problem in the past - that's not been allowed.
“It can become a hindrance when the police have got to do it. But it can help if they can say, ‘Well, I'm not going to use that now because I don't think it's appropriate in this situation’. As long as you're allowing police officers to use their discretion, it won't be a hindrance.”
