Simon Jordan has accused Andy Burnham of “leveraging sport for political gain” as the Prime Minister seeks to overturn a ban on alcohol in football stands.
Speaking to GB News, the former Crystal Palace owner and broadcaster described the plans as “populist politics”.
Mr Burnham is seeking to overturn the ban, which covers the top five tiers of English football, from the Premier League down to the National League and was enacted to tackle football hooliganism.
“I don’t think it is fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” the Prime Minister and keen Everton fan said in New York.
“I think that legislation dates to an era when football was very different and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.”
Reacting to the news, Mr Jordan said: “Whenever I look at what politicians do, I try to work out why they’re doing it, what’s behind it, what’s the motivation, what’s the end game?”
“This, to me, smacks of some of the nonsense that Corbyn trotted out 15 years ago when he talked about football clubs, when they changed hands, should automatically pass on 10 per cent to the supporters as a mechanism.
“This is just populist policies,” the entrepreneur said.
Simon Jordan has accused Andy Burnham of ‘leveraging sport for political gain’ in his bid to allow drinking in football stands
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GB NEWS
“I intensely dislike sports being used. As much as I understand that geopolitics involves sport, to some extent I dislike it being leveraged for gain and political capital.
“This feels like a politician seeking to gain currency with football fans, who are voters, without really thinking through the sentiments behind it.”
“I think it’s nice for Andy to sit in the corporate seats at Everton with his wife and remark about how much he loves football,” Mr Jordan continued.
However, he said that the Prime Minister did not understand the nature of the game and why the ban was introduced.
Mr Burnham hopes to overturn the ban and end the ‘discrimination’ against football fans
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PA
“There is tribalism I don’t see in cricket and in other sports like rugby,” Mr Jordan said.
“I don’t see many pitch invasions or tragedy chanting in those sorts of sports because it’s a different dynamic, a different attitude.”
“These have to be factored in,” he insisted.
Mr Jordan also rejected arguments that allowing alcohol in football stands would simply replicate the experience at women’s football matches, saying the two environments had “completely different” fan bases and attitudes.
Mr Jordan described Mr Burnham’s bid as an example of ‘populist politics’
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GB NEWS
On the possibility of allowing fans to drink during matches on a trial basis, Mr Jordan warned that once the policy was introduced, reversing it could prove difficult.
“Once you try something, it’s very difficult to row back from it,” he said.
The entrepreneur also questioned whether the proposal would actually benefit football clubs financially, arguing that higher policing and security costs could offset increased beer sales.
“With an average attendance of 2,000 people over 23 games this season, you’re going to have to sell an inordinate amount of beer, by the way, whilst also probably increasing your policing costs and your security costs, so it becomes a net zero gain.”
“What about the pubs that are trying to find their way through a very difficult climate?” he asked, arguing that government policies had already hit the hospitality sector.
“No, I’m not for it,” he said. “I think it’s for what end? To what end?”
“We’ve seen football clean itself up. Why take the chance?”