The Football Offences Act 1991 is an act of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

signed into law on 27 June 1991. Its creation was intended to curb "disorderly conduct", otherwise known as

football hooliganism Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviours perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism normally involves ...

. It banned the throwing of missiles, indecent and racist chants, and

pitch invasion A pitch invasion (known in North America as field storming or rushing the field) occurs when a person or a crowd of people spectating a sporting event run onto the competition area, usually to celebrate or protest an incident, or sometimes as ...

s (among other "disorderly conduct"). At the end of the 2021–2022 season, there were several pitch invasions, which led clubs to be more rigorous in seeking prosecutions under the act, which previously had not been stringently enforced. Prosecution will now be considered the "default response."

References

Law of the United Kingdom Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1991 {{UK-statute-stub