Brentford Football Club announced today that 316 sanctions were handed out during the 2023/24 season.
Sanctions were given to individuals who had breached ground regulations or other offences on matchdays, with 110 being either ejections or refused entry for away fans.
This season, the club decided to include a wider range of sanctions and incidents as part of its reporting, including those dealt with on a matchday, all issues relating to visiting supporters and ticketing offences such as touting or passing on tickets to known away fans.
This has resulted in a significantly higher number of sanctions being reported compared to previous seasons, but provides a broader, more comprehensive picture of the number and type of incidents being addressed throughout the season.
Fan sanction details
During the 2023/24 season, the club issued 316 individuals with sanctions ranging from warnings and ejections to longer-term bans due to various incidents concerning fan behaviour.
Of these 316 sanctions:
35 people received a verbal or written warning from the club
190 people were refused entry or ejected from the Gtech Community Stadium
78 people received a match ban of between one and six matches for passing on tickets to away fans
One person received a part-season match ban
One person received a 12-month sanction
Six people have been given a match ban of longer than one season
Five people had football banning orders issued against them
The 316 sanctions issued this season included:
281 were for breaking ground regulations (including away fans in home areas, smoking, intoxication, abusive language, drinking in view of the pitch and other breaches)
23 were for acts of violent or antisocial behaviour
12 were for drug offences
56 cases remain open as police investigations.
Robust actions have also been put in place to attempt to deal with away fans in home areas. More than 300 memberships were revoked during the season because of issues relating to away fans in home areas and ticket touts, an increase from 214 during the 2022/23 season.
This is an issue the club takes seriously as a known source of frustration to fans and as a safety risk within the stadium. Our dedicated internal team continues to work to ensure memberships and tickets are going to the right people.
Sally Stephens, fan and community relations director, said: “We hope that this summary of actions taken during the season will give fans confidence about what we are doing to make matchdays at the Gtech a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.
“Reporting all the sanctions issued, including those that are dealt with there and then on a matchday and those relating to ticketing offences, helps us spot any trends and identify further action to be taken.
“While the number of sanctions we have reported is not insignificant, they only represent a tiny percentage of the fans attending our games, and we are pleased to see the number of serious offences continuing to reduce, with just three of the most serious sanctions this season being for violent behaviour for example (compared to 11 last season).
"We are very proud of our fanbase and how they represent our club and what we stand for. Fans have consistently told us how safe and welcomed they feel at the Gtech Community Stadium, and we will work hard to deliver for them on those fronts in the season ahead.
“Our operations team is continuing to review and enhance the training offered for stewards and all matchday staff and we would continue to urge fans to report issues on the day wherever possible to give us the best chance to take the appropriate action.”
The club encourages fans to report any unacceptable behaviour or incidents during matches, either to a nearby steward or via one of the reporting methods, including scanning the QR code in the toilets (or on the back of seats), texting BFC followed by a message to 62277 or reporting via the official Brentford app.