Ahead of the visit of Liverpool this weekend, Wolves are reminding supporters about new legislation on tragedy chanting and abuse.
New for the 2023/24 season, regulation changes and tough new measures have been introduced to challenge the unacceptable presence of football tragedy abuse in the game.
The issue is focused on offensive chanting, gesturing and displaying offensive messages based on football-related tragedies, which causes significant distress to victims' families, survivors and affected-club supporters.
Examples of football-related tragedies that have led to such abuse include the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which led to the death of 97 Liverpool fans and a 30-year campaign led by their families to discover how and why they died, the Munich air disaster of 1958 involving the Manchester United squad, the Heysel Stadium disaster, the Bradford stadium fire and the murder of two Leeds United fans in Istanbul.
Football authorities, supporter groups and law enforcement organisations, including the police and CPS, have united to crack down on fans who participate in tragedy abuse and people who are found guilty of offences face stadium bans and criminal prosecution, including increased financial penalties for serious and repeat offenders.
Furthermore, engaging in discriminatory and offensive chanting or other verbal or non-verbal actions or gestures concerning football or other tragedies (whether done at a match, in-person or remotely – via any electronic communication, social media or otherwise) is in contravention of Wolves’ Acceptable Behaviour Policy.
Any individual found to have engaged in tragedy abuse will be subject to a ban from the ground and a breach may also subject the individual to a Football Banning Order, which would see them barred from any games in the UK.
A full breakdown of the 2022/23 sanction data specific to Wolves, including categorisation of incidents leading to investigation or sanction, can be found at wolves.co.uk.
Facilities, safety and security director, Steve Sutton said: “Whilst creating an incredible atmosphere at Molineux is what our supporters do best, we urge fans to consider the acceptability of their behaviour and whether it crosses a line into discrimination or illegality.”
Supporters inside the stadium are encouraged to report any incidents of discrimination or tragedy abuse on the day or if they are feeling unsafe at any point to their nearest matchday steward or via the Not In Our Pack text line on 07723 479887, starting the message with WOLVES.
Instances of discrimination relating to the match online or on social media, are to be reported to fanservices@wolves.co.uk or directly to West Midlands Police via west-midlands.police.uk.
To support the rehabilitation of those identified as having engaged in negative matchday behaviour, a new pilot scheme is now in the development phase which will refer young people to a restorative justice education programme that will seek to inform and educate about the impact of their behaviour on others.
The scheme is being delivered by a number of bodies, including the Premier League, EFL, Premier League Community Fund and the EFL Trust with support from local police forces and will be trialled at ten clubs across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.
