**Everton supporter and PM Andy Burnham wants football fans to be allowed to drink alcohol in their seats again.**
The Prime Minister has called for the law preventing supporters from drinking alcohol within sight of the pitch to be reviewed, arguing that football fans are treated differently from people attending other sports.
It is something Burnham has already raised at Everton’s home. After attending rugby league at the Hill Dickinson in July, where spectators were permitted to drink while watching the action, he questioned why the rules changed when the same stadium staged a football match.
“How come these lads can do that in my seat here when we can’t do that at an Everton home game?” he said. “Something wrong there. I think we need to look at that.”
The restriction dates back to the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 and applies to matches in the top five divisions of men’s football in England.
Supporters can buy alcohol inside Premier League grounds, but it can’t be consumed in view of the pitch. Burnham believes the law is outdated and has suggested trials as one possible way forward.
There is some support for that approach. The Football Supporters’ Association has backed a review, while the 2021 Fan-Led Review of Football Governance recommended pilot schemes in League Two and the National League.
The UK Football Policing Unit has sounded a note of caution, warning against changing the rules without properly considering the potential effect on disorder and safety.
It is a debate with rather more serious considerations than what happens to your clothes when a goal goes in, but anyone who has watched a major tournament in a packed fan park will know where this is heading.
Allow thousands of [Everton](https://readeverton.com/) supporters to take full pints into their seats and a 94th-minute Ainsley Maitland-Niles winner is going to test more than the legislation.
Beer being launched into the air during goal celebrations has become a familiar sight at fan parks. Put a pint in the hand of somebody jumping three feet into the air when Everton score and there is a reasonable chance the person in front (and those in the vicinity) will end up wearing it.
There is a legitimate argument for asking why football supporters should be treated differently from spectators at rugby, cricket and other sporting events. There are equally legitimate questions over whether changing the rules could create problems of its own.
A properly controlled trial would provide rather more useful evidence than either side simply guessing what might happen.
For Everton supporters, Burnham’s experience at the Hill Dickinson makes the debate particularly relevant. The same seat from which he could watch rugby league with a drink in July remains subject to very different rules when Everton are playing.
Whether that eventually changes is now back on the agenda. Just don’t celebrate near somebody carrying four pints.
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