A cross-party group of eight MPs, including former sports minister Tracey Crouch and Baroness Ruth Davidson of the Conservatives and Labour’s Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, have expressed their shock in a letter to Nigel Huddleston MP, the parliamentary under-secretary for Sport.
Their co-signed letter adds: “As co-captains, co-chairs, members and players of the Women’s Parliamentary Football Team and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Football, we were shocked to learn that women’s football is not included within the definition of the Football (Offences) (Designation of Football Matches) Order 2004.
“Given the growth of the professional women’s game, this is enormously worrying. We strongly urge you to consider an immediate change to the legislation to ensure that professional women’s football is listed as a designated match thus bringing parity of protection to female footballers afforded to their male counterparts. Yours sincerely, Tracey Crouch, Alison McGovern, Hannah Bardell, Baroness Ruth Davidson, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Kim Leadbeater, Wendy Chamberlain, Alex Davies-Jones.”
Crouch, the member of parliament for Chatham and Aylesford, added on Twitter: “This is extraordinary! I didn’t know this but now that I do I shall look to see how it can be changed. I also think Kerr’s yellow card should be rescinded – ridiculous she gets punished when the invader does not!”
A Home Office spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph: “Football banning order legislation covers both women’s and men’s designated matches where there is a high risk of disorder, and matches in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and women’s international matches fall under its scope.
“Matches are designated based on the history of incidents and the assessment of risk. Where matches are not designated, they are subject to generic public order legislation that applies to them as well as other sporting events.”
The designated matches – following 2011’s amendment – are outlined as follows:
- The association football matches specified in paragraphs (2) or (3) are hereby designated for the purposes of the Football (Offences) Act 1991.
- A designated match is an association football match in which one or both of the participating teams represents a club which is for the time being a member (whether a full or associate member) of the Football League, the Football Association Premier League, the Football Conference or the Scottish Football League or the Welsh Premier League, or whose home ground is for the time being situated outside England and Wales, or represents a country or territory.
- A designated match is an association football match in competition for the Football Association Cup (other than in a preliminary or qualifying round).
A Chelsea Women spokesperson said: “A supporter gained access to the pitch during a recent fixture at Kingsmeadow and was apprehended and escorted off site by the security team. The male has subsequently been suspended for breaching stadium regulations.
“Following the incident, the club has reviewed procedures for future Women’s matches and has introduced further precautionary safety measures to mitigate risk and protect our players. We will continue to keep match safety and security under continual review.”
