Why can’t football fans and alcohol mix well? For over 2 generations we have witnessed images beamed from all over Europe as supporters of various football clubs and countries clash in City squares. Lives have been lost! And as always the diagnosis is too much alcohol consumed by fans. Recently, Motherwell chairman, John Boyle, has rallied for the alcohol ban at football matches, in Scotland, to be lifted calling it ‘Absurd!’

Mr Boyle’s claims that elsewhere, Rugby fans can sit in their seat and drink a beer while watching a match. Football fans in Scotland, he claims, are being discriminated against by the actions of supporters who misbehaved more than 25 years ago. Is football really ready to start selling booze at the match again? For the many thousands of decent football supporters who attend matches, home and away, with not a hint of causing trouble in their minds – there are always a few idiots whose main focus is just that – trouble.

Tonight, in Manchester, Scottish Champions Celtic play Manchester United in a Champions League Game. Given the problems at the end of last season where hundreds of Rangers fans rioted and fought with Police at the UEFA Cup Final, which was held at the City of Manchester Stadium, will there be extra-vigilant policing – probably. But Celtic fans don’t have a reputation for trouble. Neither, had Rangers fans prior to the UEFA Cup riots. And let’s not forget that there were around 200,000 Rangers fans that travelled down to take in the party atmosphere. But the actions of a few, tarnish the good reputation of the many. Mud sticks, and all that.

Those images, of fans fighting and rioting in the streets, that are shown on TV and splattered across Newspapers worldwide do have an effect. The simple Math that football supporter + alcohol = violence, is going to take a while to rub out. Clubs that want to bring booze back into the game need to realise that, if things do go wrong, then they have to accept responsibility for allowing the situation to happen in the first place – the buck stops with them and no longer should it lay on the shoulders of the majority of decent football fans worldwide.