A proposal by Senior Traffic Commissioner (TC) Richard Turfitt to extend to Scotland voluntary guidelines for the transport of passengers to designated sporting events (specifically, association football matches) was abruptly withdrawn on 8 September.
The about-turn came after Mr Turfitt “listened to the strength of feeling” about a consultation into the plans that was published on 30 August. In a brief statement, he notes that any guidance issued by the Senior TC is “intended to assist” coach and bus operators.
However, the scale of kickback has left the Senior TC clear “that there is further work required to understand the full impact of the introduction of any proposed guidance in Scotland.”
The now-abandoned consultation noted that the voluntary guidelines have been in place in England and Wales for some time, where they were agreed with various stakeholders. They were recently updated after Mr Turfitt suggested that incidents of football-related disorder could be increasing.
He noted in the consultation of 30 August that “it would be appropriate to consult on the introduction of voluntary guidelines for designated football matches held within Scotland” in the name of having a consistent approach across Great Britain.
The exercise in Scotland was to run until 24 November, with Mr Turfitt keen to hear whether the voluntary guidelines for transport to sporting events required amendment to reflect a particular position or issue in Scotland.
Criticism of the proposals was quickly aired, with the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Professional Football League and the Scottish Women’s Premier League uniting in their opposition. A joint statement says that they were “concerned by the targeted nature of these proposals, which serve demonise football fans and interfere unnecessarily in people’s lives.”
The three bodies add that Scotland already has “appropriate powers” for vehicle operators, Police Scotland and others to deal with “a very small number of incidents by a minority of fans,” and that the proposed changes would “unfairly effect the vast majority of football fans who travel safety and respectfully to and from matches on a weekly basis.”
