RETAINING THE alcohol ban at Tayside’s football grounds could deny clubs a potentially vital revenue stream, it has been claimed.
There was a mixed response among football clubs in Tayside and Fife to news that Scotland’s new Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has dismissed calls to reverse the ban imposed in the 1980s.
SFA chief executive Stewart Regan said he hopes to persuade the police and the Scottish Government that football fans have moved on but Mr Matheson said yesterday that he had no plans to do so.
John Christison, the chairman of Arbroath Football Club, backed alcohol sales, saying clubs had to consider all revenue streams.
Mr Christison said: “Things have moved on drastically from the old days when there were problems with drink at grounds.
“If it’s policed and done sensibly there’s no reason we shouldn’t do it.”
Dundee FC general manager Jim Thomson said: “The game has moved on in the 30-odd years since the legislation banning alcohol was introduced, so perhaps it is time to look at the matter dispassionately.
“We are not saying yes but equally we are not saying never.
“It should be looked at with current information at our fingertips and not with what happened 30 years ago.”
Speaking at the first SFA convention, sports promoter Barry Hearn described the alcohol ban as “archaic” in a speech lamenting the poor attendances at Scottish football.
rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk
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