Premier League: Clubs agree minimum one-year bans for supporters
- Published
Premier League managers talking during the 2021-22 season on pitch invasions and fan violence
Fans who take part in anti-social or criminal behaviour at Premier League grounds will now face a minimum one-year club ban.
Premier League clubs agreed to launch automatic bans alongside the English Football League in July in a bid to address fan behaviour issues.
They have now decided on a minimum one-year term at a meeting of Premier League shareholders.
The bans will take effect immediately and apply to both home and away games.
They will apply to "fans caught carrying or activating pyrotechnics or smoke bombs, or entering the pitch without permission".
"Clubs unanimously agreed to introduce minimum-length bans for supporters who take part in anti-social and criminal behaviours at league stadiums," read a statement from the Premier League following today's meeting.
"These bans could also be extended to accompanying parents or guardians of children who take part in such activities."
Tottenham defender Eric Dier told BBC Sport this week that he believed the problems of fan behaviour at Premier League grounds was getting worse.
The 28-year-old England international said he feels "too uncomfortable" for his family to attend away matches, despite recent measures taken by the Premier League, EFL and Football Association.
Action was taken in July following a number of high-profile incidents at the end of last season.
Aston Villa keeper Robin Olsen was assaulted at Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League campaign, while a Nottingham Forest fan was jailed for headbutting Sheffield United captain Billy Sharp at the end of their Championship play-off semi-final match last season.
As well as introducing automatic bans for fans, the FA also agreed tougher sanctions for clubs.
Those included working with clubs to improve searches of individuals and increasing the use of sniffer dogs at ground, while also working with social media platforms to quickly remove fan-generated videos of illegal behaviour.
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