Neil Doncaster has vowed to continue his efforts against the ban of alcohol at Scottish football matches.
The SPFL chief admitted it is "regrettable" that Scottish football fans can't enjoy a drink "as part of the match experience" like in other sports.
Currently, no alcohol can be sold to supporters inside the stadium during matches - with limited space in hospitality or pre-match lounges where fans can order a pint.
But Doncaster insists he will continue to push for the laws to be changed as he outlined the impact on attendance and safety with the current laws.
He theorised that some fans may choose not to attend matches due to the law and suggested the ban could lead to excess drinking before fixtures leading to "sub-optimal" safety scenarios.
READ MORE: Will Ange Postecoglou consider Celtic exit for Tottenham?
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast, he said: "Since the 1980s, fans attending most parts of the stadium can't have any alcoholic drink at all.
"So I've got huge sympathy from a Scottish point of view. We would like to remove as many barriers as possible that prevent people from coming to games and enjoying the matchday experience.
"At other sports in Scotland, fans can enjoy a drink as part of the match experience. So it certainly is regrettable that can't happen in Scotland (at football matches).
"I think from a safety and health point of view, the current ban on serving alcohol at games actually creates an incentive for fans to cram as many pints as they can down their necks as possible at a local pub then run to the turnstiles and try get in within 10 mins before kick-off which I think is sub-optimal from the point of view of safety and a sensible way of doing things.
"I would certainly like to see a situation in the future where fans can enjoy drink at matches as they can in England and across Europe as part of an enjoyable day out.
"We will certainly continue to press the case with the authorities for this to happen at some point in the future."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel