From Managing to Nullifying Risk: Blanket Bans, Football Supporters and the Rule of Law

So-called ‘blanket bans’ on visiting football supporters travelling to fixtures of European football competitions appear to have become a key source of contention between clubs, fans, football and political authorities, and yet they have been largely neglected in academic analyses. This is despite the recent calls for the need to facilitate and respect football supporters’ rights in Europe. By advancing these debates, this article questions: (1) how do blanket bans reveal new patterns in the regulation of football crowds in Europe? and (2) how the Saint-Denis Convention may serve as the principal operational and legal axis for shaping and legitimising decisions regarding blanket bans? We argue that public authorities’ turn towards blanket bans, in some cases, symbolises a move from governing individuals towards populations; that seeks to nullify rather than manage risk. Further, we contend that blanket bans give life to new sites of contestations between European football’s key actors and raise legal questions speaking to the legal responsibilities which are enshrined within the Saint-Denis Convention. Against this backdrop, this article argues for the enhancement of the Saint-Denis Convention’s overseeing Committee’s investigative, disciplinary and interpretive capacities to ensure that the duties it enshrines can yield the fullness of their potential within contracting states.