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

This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.So-called ‘blanket bans’ on visiting football supporters travelling to fixtures of European football competition appear to have become increasingly commonplace in recent years but have been neglected in academic analyses. This, 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 blanket bans reveal new patterns in the regulation of football crowds in Europe, and (2) examines the ways in which 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 toward blanket bans, in some cases, symbolises a move from governing individuals toward 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 raises legal questions speaking to the legal responsibilities which are enshrined within the Saint-Denis Convention.