With the return of the Premier League and the Championship over the past week thoughts are turning to the possibility of supporters coming back to football stadiums in the not too distant future. Indeed in France it has already been announced that as from 11th July up to 5000 fans will be permitted to attend sporting events and that the position will be further reviewed in the middle of July.
Can a Football Banning Order be terminated early?
Of course for fans who are subject to Football Banning Orders the return to football grounds may still be a distant prospect. At Olliers we are well aware that people can find themselves in difficulties at football matches for all sorts of reasons and that they may end up being made subject to Football Banning Orders. For those people who are made subject to a ban it is well worth remembering that it is possible to make an application to the court for the order to be terminated early once two thirds of the period have expired.
What factors will the court take into account?
When considering such an application the court must take into account a number of factors. These are set out in section 14H of the Football Spectators Act 1989. In particular the court must have regard to a persons character, their conduct since the order was made, the nature of the offence or conduct that led to the making of the order and any other circumstances which appear to be relevant. The applications are listed before the court for hearing and the court take into account a full range of issues before deciding whether or not to end a ban. These matters are usually referred to the relevant police force so that they can make representations to the court in respect of the application. If an application is unsuccessful a further application cannot be made for the next six months and the person applying is likely to have to pay all or part of the costs of the case.
How can Olliers help me?
At Olliers we specialise in dealing with football related matters and if you are subject to a Football Banning Order we can advise you and, if appropriate, represent you in making an application to the court to end your ban early. As stated such applications can only be considered once two thirds of the period of the ban have expired and, however far off that might be, we are always happy to discuss the possibility of making such an application. We have advised a number of people in recent years in connection with such applications; indeed earlier this season we successfully represented someone who asked the court to terminate a Football Banning Order two years after a three year ban had been imposed following an incident at a high profile Premier League game on Merseyside involving a London club.
Contact our football offences team
If you are subject to a Football Banning Order and would like to discuss the possibility of making an application to the court for the early termination of the order please do not hesitate to contact Laura Baumanis or David Philpott at Olliers.
