SPFL football stadium alcohol ban to be lifted in pilot scheme

Ayr United supporters will be permitted to buy alcohol at SPFL games as part of a limited pilot scheme, the Championship club has revealed.

South Ayrshire Council has granted alcohol licences for the club’s two upcoming home Premier Sports Cup matches.

It will be the first time ordinary fans will have been permitted to drink alcohol at a football game since a ban was introduced in 1981 as a response to rioting at the previous year’s Scottish Cup final.

The club has said that a maximum of 66 supporters, paying a ticket price of £35, will be allowed to access the stadium through a specific gate and consume up to four pints pre-match and another at half-time.

Alcohol will only be available in the accessible area of the Main Stand for home supporters. The only alcohol included in the trial will be Birra Moretti.

The pilot will run during the matches against Arbroath on July 19, and Forfar on July 22.

Under existing legislation, the supporters will not be able to view the pitch while in the bar area.

Ayr United say they hope the initiative “will add to the enjoyment of the matchday experience for supporters” and that the events “will provide the SPFL and local stakeholders with comfort in the club’s ability to sell alcohol safely within the stadium”.

The pilot scheme comes just four months after Police Scotland had said it was “open to discussions” over test projects but the Scottish Government insisted there were no plans to change the legislation.

First Minister John Swinney said at the time he was “not sympathetic” to the views of those who wanted the ban lifted.

The sale of alcohol has been banned in Scottish football since 1981 after the previous year’ Scottish Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic erupted into a riot.

The ban has often resulted in comparisons with rugby, where fans are allowed to drink alcohol in the stands.

On December 22, 2024, Glasgow Warriors played against Edinburgh at Hampden with alcohol being sold in the concourse. A day prior Queen’s Park took to the pitch, however, fans were unable to drink.

“I understand the aspiration amongst football clubs and some football interests to take forward measures to address the ban on alcohol in football stadiums,” the First Minister said in March.

“I’m not sympathetic to that.

“I understand where they’re coming from, but I am not sympathetic to that.

“I think we’ve got a set of arrangements in place just now that work, that are appropriate, that are necessary, and I think we should stick with them.”