Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill

Lord Shamash Excerpts

Friday 24th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shamash (Lab)]

My Lords, thank you very much for allowing me to speak in the gap. I fully support this Bill and congratulate my noble friend Lord Brennan on it. The comments from the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, and my noble friend Lord Mann have been fascinating. I have a slight interest to declare, having consulted the clerk, as I am the patron and former chairman of Manchester United Supporters’ Trust. That club’s ground is certainly one that you would not be able to use a ladder to look into.

I am particularly concerned about the mechanics of enforcement. If you have 3,500 people breaking into a ground, how on earth do you even begin to do this? I implore that when this Bill goes into Committee, how to deal with that is considered. Tailgating, which is where you follow in behind somebody, whether you do it above or below—I would probably be below, like the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan—is really quite important, but tailgating is something we see all the time on the Tube. I have seen it at Old Trafford: usually, the person doing it is 10 times my size, so I let him get on with it, but the reality is that it could be caught by CCTV.

What I am concerned about is how we deal with enforcement and who is ultimately going to pay. The Bill focuses on the football clubs themselves; I suspect that while they will not want to, they may find themselves having to bear the burden of this. I look forward to hearing what happens about enforcement. I wish the Bill well and I congratulate my noble friend again.