Following recent incidents at home and away games, we would like to remind a small minority of fans that antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated by the Club.
These incidents have put players, officials, stewards, and other fans at risk and can result in heavy fines being issued to the Club.
Four supporters have been issued with bans following Tuesday night’s game against Eastleigh, and the Club will continue to investigate all incidents and issue bans to those who can’t behave responsibly.
We are extremely proud of our fans and encourage passionate, respectful support, but we need to ensure our games are a safe, pleasant environment for everyone to enjoy. We don’t want a small minority of people giving our wonderful County fans a bad name.
Please see our Unacceptable Conduct Policy below…
Let’s all support County responsibly!
Unacceptable Conduct Policy
To help ensure a safe, entertaining atmosphere at all Stockport County matches, please be reminded that unacceptable conduct whilst at any Stockport County match – from home or away supporters – will not be tolerated.
Stockport County accepts a duty of care in respect of ground safety, behaviour at matches and damage to stadia to ensure that our players, officials, supporters and any other person exercising a function for, or connected with, the Club does not engage in unacceptable conduct at a stadium on the occasion of an official match. This includes all home and away matches played by the Club.
Unacceptable conduct covers conduct which is violent and/or disorderly and includes:
- Any sort of sectarian, religious, bigoted, homophobic, racist or sexist behaviour
- Aggressiveness or violent behaviour, including damage to the ground
- Drunkenness
- Threatening and/or abusive behaviour
The safety team at Stockport County works very closely with the Police and the regulatory authorities to ensure that safety and security is never subject to compromise and that fans receive the highest level of service in this regard.
Any individual who participates in unacceptable conduct at home or away matches will be ejected and/or arrested. Stockport County reserves the right to take further sanctions, including exclusion from the stadium, for a period of time or permanently. The Police will also pursue Football Banning Orders.
Police and all National League clubs have a disclosure policy whereby details of “away” fans involved in unacceptable conduct will be passed to their home club.
Flags/Banner Policy
Large Flags/banners are allowed provided they are accompanied by a certificate from the manufacturer confirming they are made of fire retardant material. They will be subject to examination prior to entry to ensure that the flags or banners do not depict anything offensive.
Flags/banners can be draped over vacant seats at the discretion of the match day security team, however banner/flag surfing is not permitted. Also banners cannot be draped over and obscure advertising hoardings
Flags on poles – small flags on wooden canes are not permitted, however metal telescopic flag poles are permitted.
Musical Instruments
Musical instruments will be permitted on the following conditions:
1. They will be searched prior to entry to the stadium;
2. They must not be used to encourage or accompany any singing or chanting that is deemed to be unacceptable. (This includes anything of a racist, sectarian or personal nature against a player, manager, director etc.). Please remember that Edgeley Park is a family orientated stadium and anything that is against public/family decency will not be tolerated.
3. If fellow fans in the vicinity of the instruments complain about the noise, then stewards will request that the instruments are not played. If the person playing the instrument refuses to stop, then he/she may be ejected from the stadium.
Pyrotechnics
The use of pyrotechnics (smoke flares and noise percussion) is an unwanted feature at football grounds. Please note discharging such items is extremely dangerous and can cause serious injury and crowd panic. Stockport County, in conjunction with the Police, have a zero-tolerance approach to the use of pyrotechnics and offenders will be ejected and banned from attending Stockport County matches for life. They may also be subject to criminal proceedings and banned from football stadia.
Pitch Incursions
Any person who encroaches onto the field of play or pitch side track, for whatever reason, will be ejected by ground security staff and also banned from the Stadium. These fans may also be subject to arrest by Police. This also applies to fans who throw any items onto the pitch before, during or after the game.
Alcohol
It is prohibited to bring any alcohol into the stadium and all alcohol drinks must be purchased from the food kiosks or bars within the ground. Fans caught bringing alcohol into the stadium will have this removed and could face bans as a result.
Smoking
Smoking (including vaping) is prohibited anywhere within the stadium. Fans caught smoking will be ejected from the stadium and could face bans as a result.
In order to ensure the full enjoyment and safety of our supporters, Stockport County welcomes any feedback or comments on the safety and security operation at Edgeley Park. Please contact the safety team direct via [email protected]. This facility can also be used to make any complaints or positive comments to improve fans’ experiences at Edgeley Park.
Thank you for helping make Edgeley Park a safe place for everyone.
