FRASER Wishart, the chief executive of PFA Scotland, has expressed his concern about the rise in use of pyrotechnics at football matches and warned the fans responsible they are endangering the players they are cheering on as well as themselves.
An alarming number of domestic and European games involving Scottish clubs this season have seen bangers, flares, rockets, smoke bombs and strobes set off in the stands - and often thrown onto the park - by supporters.
Wishart, the head of the independent trade union for professional footballers in this country, believes the practice is putting his members’ health and personal safety at risk and would like to see increased attempts made by clubs, the football authorities and police to snuff it out.
“This first raised its head about 10 years ago,” he said. “It started to come in to Scottish football around then. PFA Scotland issued joint advice to players along with the Scottish FA at the time about what to do when flares get thrown onto the pitch.
“The advice was ‘walk away from it’. These things can explode. At a Rangers game in Falkirk a few years ago, a flare was thrown onto to the artificial surface and it actually melted the pitch. That is what you are dealing with here.
“When Copenhagen played Leicester City in the Champions League a few years ago, their fans went nuts and let off flares. A thermal imaging camera showed the flames reached a temperature of 555 degrees centigrade.
“So it isn’t just something that lights up, look good and creates an atmosphere. This is something that can cause massive damage to a fan or to a player and it needs to stop.”
Wishart added: “A football field is the players’ workplace and if they are getting things thrown at them, whether that is on purpose or not, that is wrong. We don’t want to get to a stage where a player gets injured by a pyrotechnic on the field of play.
“If that happens, we will have real problems. Not just for the individual who is burned or hurt either. There are also major ramifications for the person who threw it. They could end up in prison for it.
“It is dangerous for supporters as well. When you are coming to a game as a supporter you shouldn’t be worried when you are sitting in your seat. Stadia are all seated now so you can’t move. You are stuck there. It should be a safe environment. It is the same for football players.”
Pyrotechnics emit highly toxic and carcinogenic smoke – sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are 10,000 times the safe levels for those standing next to the devices and 15 times the safe levels in other areas of a stadium – and doctors are fearful of the long-term health implications for those who are frequently exposed to it.
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“There are so many facets to this argument,” said Wishart. “I don’t know exactly what is in these things, but I do know it is not very pleasant. It is an issue for players having to breathe that in week in, week out.
“But can you imagine sitting in a stand or standing on a terracing where these things are being set off? We are trying to encourage families to come along and parents to bring their children. They could be put in a situation where they are breathing in horrible noxious fumes.
“They could be put in a situation where it is frightening as well. There are noisy bangs and fire as well. Parents could very well decide not to take their children back to football after a bad experience. There are a whole host of issues here.
“Of course, it could be damaging and dangerous to players if they are thrown onto the field of play. But it is possibly more damaging to the fans who are holding them. It is more dangerous to them and the supporters around them. They could blow up in their face. The implications to them are massive.”
He added: “I don’t get it. But it is a real problem. Football can’t just stand by. The clubs, governing bodies and police authorities have to do something to try and knock this on the head. It is becoming a norm in football. It is almost a competition between fans of one club to show they can light more flares than fans of another club.
“It is dangerous in many, many ways to fans, stewards and to players. It is the responsibility of the clubs, the football authorities and the police together. Supporters groups also have a responsibility.
“We are trying to encourage young people to come to games. They are given their own areas inside stadiums, are allowed to bring in drums and they are great. But young fans need to understand that bringing in a flare is not only a criminal offence, it can also cause damage to them, other supporters, stewards and even players. It needs to stop.”
