All 72 EFL clubs are subject to a chairman’s charter which aims to put an end to the dangerous use of pyrotechnics, which include smoke bombs, flares and fireworks within EFL football grounds.
The introduction of the single issue charter in the 2017/18 campaign came amid increasing concerns about the proliferation of pyrotechnics being used in stadia during the opening matches of the season with its main objective to act as a future deterrent.
It followed a number of incidents of significant concern where supporters have suffered serious injuries, including a 15-year-old boy who required hospital treatment for lung damage after a smoke bomb was thrown during a game.
In conjunction with police forces around the country, EFL clubs will take strong and decisive action against any fan found attempting to bring a banned item into a ground. The same will apply to supporters who choose to discharge pyrotechnics within a stadium environment. Police should be informed of such incidents and consideration given to a prosecution and subsequent banning order, where sufficient evidence is forthcoming of a criminal offence.
Any supporter found to be in breach of the terms of the charter will face a minimum three-season club ban. Clubs will be permitted the flexibility to reduce the length of the club ban should an offender recognise the danger of their actions.
EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “Taking pyrotechnics into our grounds is a criminal offence and, where there is evidence that the law has been broken, the police will always seek to impose a football banning order as an appropriate measure.
“The EFL recognises the collective role it must play in deterring supporters from committing pyrotechnic offences and from today, as a result of the introduction of the new charter, our clubs in all instances will ban any supporter if they are found to be in possession of a banned device when entering an EFL venue. The same will apply to anyone who discharges a pyrotechnic when inside a stadium facility.
“We understand the prospect of banning supporters is not an easy one for clubs to contemplate and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our member clubs for their commitment to help deliver this important initiative on a collective basis.”
The National Police Chiefs' Council lead for football policing, deputy chief constable Mark Roberts, said: “The use of pyrotechnics at football grounds presents a real risk to fans – there have been serious injuries and even a death as a result of their use. Our primary aim is always to keep fans safe and so welcome the EFL’s initiative to highlight and tackle the issue.
“The use of pyrotechnics or even trying to get them into a ground is a criminal offence. People using them are likely to face prosecution and a football banning order and aside of those consequences I would ask fans to consider how they would feel if, as a result of their actions, another supporter was scarred for life, seriously injured or worse.”