Sponsored by
Regan defends policing policy
Stewart Regan insists that Yorkshire do take a hard line with troublemakers following criticism over the continued poor behaviour of a minority of supporters in the notorious West Stand – at the recent Headingley Carnegie Test.
Unruly behaviour by small groups of drunken spectators has sadly become commonplace at Tests at Headingley over the years, with stewards again kept busy at the second Test against South Africa – when dozens of "fans" were again ejected for a variety of public order offences.
That has caused some sections of the media to decry the lack of proactiveness at Headingley, but Tykes chief executive Regan has defended Yorkshire's policy – and is adamant the county take a tough stance with those who misbehave and do put in steps to deter drunkenness.
He said: "We do take a firm approach, we charged a number of individuals who tried to get onto the pitch over the weekend and we do take a hard line with people who are out of line.
"Everyone who is ejected from the ground is blacklisted, basically. And they are not able to return to our stadium in future.
"There were 17,000 in the ground over the weekend. Nobody mentions that 16,800 people were having a fantastic day out enjoying the cricket. As always, some focus on the minority who try and spoil it for other people.
"I'm sure their intentions aren't to spoil the game and are to have a good day out. But unfortunately, some end up drinking too much and become too boisterous."
He added: "We have seen people coming to sporting events in this country now for more than just the sport itself.
"If you look at days at the races, going to rugby matches, there's an element of the crowd almost going for a big day out.
"Unfortunately, drink is at the heart of it – what we have to do as a club is try and control that. We've taken steps to reduce the alcohol consumption at the ground by opening the bars later and closing them earlier and taking a break during the day.
"But unfortunately, there are still those who will take every opportunity to drink as much as they can while they are in the stadium. And we have to deal with that and we do deal with it.
"We've taken very firm action. This year, we ejected a number of people over the course of the four days, so it's something we are aware of and are dealing with.
"What gets picked up on is the fact that the West Stand has over many, many years attracted a reputation as an area where people come to enjoy themselves to drink and chant and cheer.
"They almost enter into a party mode and we have to manage that.
"It's very difficult when people purchase tickets to say 'you can't come to this ground unless you are not going to drink'. Because it then discriminates against people who want to come to the Test match and want to have a good day out and drink sensibly, we have to manage it in the best way we can."
Regan insists the club were happy with the Test from a commercial prospective, despite being disappointed with the sparse crowd on Monday, who saw England limp to an abject reverse inside four days.
But he feels there were several mitigating circumstances for Monday's low attendance.
He said: "We had three full houses on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"Admittedly, it was a disappointing crowd on Monday, largely because some schools haven't broken up and it (Monday) isn't a brilliant day to pull people in, particularly the corporates.
"But overall, it was a successful Test match."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
