Kieran Maguire: Fans at risk of being ‘disenfranchised’ as Leeds probe launched
Fans will become “disenfranchised” if scenes such as those involving Newcastle United and Leeds United last Saturday (22 January) persist.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the recent “crowd trouble” at Elland Road.
Four turnstiles in the away end at Elland Road stopped working ahead of the Magpies’ 1-0 win over Leeds, leading to a surge at the gates.
The Newcastle fan group NUST condemned Leeds’ handling of the situation and called for better implication of matchday protocols.
Leeds confirmed on Monday (24 January) that they would work with West Yorkshire Police to launch a review of the incident.
The episode came about as a result of a technical fault and there is no indication of wrongdoing from either set of fans.
But the Premier League risks diminishing its international appeal while any sort of incidents on the terraces continue, argues Maguire.
“The Premier League is a globally watched product,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“People will become disenfranchised, especially the more casual viewer, if they see more instances of crowd trouble.
“While the numbers have increased, they have increased from a relatively low base. Nobody is condoning this.
“Unfortunately and wrongly, things like this play into the hands of Mark Roberts, who is no friend of football fans.
“It allows those who have a Dickensian view of football fans to feel justified in putting as many hurdles in the way as possible.
“There are also implications in terms of the safe standing trial. It will be used as a stick by the likes of Roberts to beat fans with.”
National Police Chief Constable Mark Roberts has raised concerns over rising incidents of hooliganism at football matches in recent years.
As relayed by Sky Sports on Monday (24 January), disorder at English football grounds is up by more than a third from 2019-20.
In other news, Danny Mills suggests Leeds United know exactly who they will sign this month after Angus Kinnear “statement”.