Brentford Football Club worked with representatives from Brentford Independent Association of Supporters (BIAS) and Bees United over the last few months to review its processes for managing fan behaviour issues.
The new guidelines and processes are summarised in the club’s new acceptable behaviour policy.
The club is committed to continuing to build a passionate atmosphere on matchdays to support the team to deliver the best possible performance, while at the same time ensuring a respectful and welcoming, family friendly environment, free from discrimination and abuse for all supporters whether in person or online.
The policy aims to make clear what constitutes acceptable behaviour, unacceptable behaviour and the consequences of breaching those guidelines. Our reporting processes are also reiterated, together with the club’s investigation and appeals processes.
Key acceptable behaviour principles and guidelines stated in the policy include safety procedures, rules about match tickets and behaviour both online and in person. The club’s full acceptable behaviour policy can be found in full here.
Fan sanctions in 2022/23
The club provides regular updates on any fan behaviour incidents it has dealt with but would like to reiterate that the number of incidents overall is low and almost half of fans who completed our end of season survey said that they had not witnessed any incidences of abuse at the stadium.
Over the course of the 2022/23 season, a total of 35 individuals were sanctioned for various incidents concerning fan behaviour.
Of this number, 21 of these sanctions varied from an ejection from the stadium through to a ban of more than a season. The remaining 14 were dealt with by a verbal warning from club staff.
19 additional incidents remain with the police as part of ongoing investigations. The number of fan sanctions issued last season is lower than for the 2021/22 season which saw 56 sanctions issued.
The 35 sanctions issued last season included:
11 for violence or anti-social behaviour (23 in 2021/22)
Five for use of discriminatory language (nine in 2021/22)
19 for breaching ground regulations, drug offences and other breaches including refusal to comply with staff instructions (seven in 2021/22)
The 2022/23 season also saw a total of 214 memberships revoked due to ticketing offences.
Of this number, 201 offences were due to ticket touting and 13 were due to away fans in home areas. During our 2021/22 season there were 206 offences.