Alcohol ban on football coaches
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THE GOVERNMENT is to rush through emergency legislation banning the carriage of alcohol on coaches to football grounds.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced the ban as part of the Government's 10-point package in response to the tragedy at the European Cup Final in Brussels last week at which 38 people died following a clash between Liverpool and Juventas fans.
The coach ban is similar to the one introduced in Scotland in 1981, which has been hailed as a major success.
• Plans to introduce laws to control the transport of football fans on coaches and ferries have been welcomed by the Bus and Coach Council.
The BCC already has its own established guidelines for coaches used to carry football spectators. These already stipulate that coaches must not arrive at a match more than one hour before kick-off, nor leave later than one hour after the final whistle, that the coach must not stop (except in an emergency) within 10 miles of a match venue nor en route for more than one hour at any place where alcohol is served. Neither must they carry alcohol in crates or cases or bulk.
But operators are worried that the new rules will lead to an increase in the number of fans using uncontrolled and unregulated self-drive minibuses.