Section 1 Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act 2026

Section 1 of the Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Act 2026 Offence of unauthorised entry to designated football matches. It provides as follows:

In the Football (Offences) Act 1991, after section 1 (designated football matches) insert—
“1AUnauthorised entry
(1)A person (“P”) commits an offence if—

(a)P enters, or attempts to enter, premises for the purpose of attending a designated football match, and

(b)at the time of entry or attempted entry, P does not have a match ticket for the match that P is eligible to use.

(2)It is a defence to prove that P had lawful authority or lawful excuse for entering, or attempting to enter, the premises.

(3)It is a defence to prove that—

(a)P entered, or attempted to enter, the premises through an entry point normally used by spectators,

(b)at the time of entry or attempted entry, P had something that they reasonably believed was a match ticket for the match, and

(c)the thing that P had—

(i)was not a match ticket for the match, or

(ii)was a match ticket for the match but P was not eligible to use it.

(4)In this section—

“match ticket” means a ticket or other thing (whether in physical or electronic form) which authorises a person to enter premises for the purpose of attending a designated football match;
“premises” includes any place.”

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Source: legislation.gov.uk
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