A man has received a football banning order after being charged with tailgating at a football match, marking the first such case according to the police. Benjamin Bailey, hailing from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was apprehended at the Carabao Cup final between Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on March 22 for unlawfully entering without a ticket.
The 27-year-old confessed to the offense at Willesden Magistrates’ Court and was issued a three-year football banning order along with a £230 fine by the HM Courts & Tribunals Service. This incident is believed to be the inaugural prosecution of its kind, following the criminalization of tailgating – the act of non-ticket holders trailing paying attendees through turnstiles to access games.
Individuals convicted of tailgating across England and Wales could face a football banning order lasting up to five years and a fine of up to £1,000. This legal measure was introduced before the Carabao Cup final, five years after a chaotic incident where numerous ticketless fans unlawfully entered the same stadium before the Euro 2020 final.
The enforcement of this criminal offense was prompted by severe disruptions during the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy, which led to life-threatening situations as fans breached the stadium security, as highlighted in a review by Baroness Louise Casey. Prior to this legislation, there were no specific legal consequences for attending a football match without a ticket, a loophole that was addressed in the Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act.
The Act also prohibits the intentional use of forged tickets, passes, or accreditation documents to gain entry to matches, as well as falsely representing oneself as a member of the stadium or playing staff. The regulations were revised following an in-depth examination of the Uefa European Championship final held at Wembley in July 2021, where Baroness Casey identified over 20 potential serious injury or fatality incidents due to ticketless individuals attempting to access the England v Italy match.
During the final, approximately 100,000 individuals traveled to Wembley, with around 2,000 managing to enter the stadium without tickets. The review identified 17 major breaches of security in the 90 minutes leading up to the match and the subsequent penalty shootout. Baroness Casey attributed the chaotic events to ticketless individuals and labeled the incident a “national shame,” stressing the risk posed to human life and emphasizing the responsibility lying with those without tickets who stormed the stadium.
