Children used as mules as football flares use rockets
Shocking new research today claimed children as young as eight are being used to smuggle flares and smoke bombs into Premier League matches.
A survey, commissioned by the league, of 1,635 supporters found a third have been directly affected by pyrotechnics at stadiums, while 86 per cent fear for their safety.
And fans have been warned they could be jailed following an increase in high-profile incidents, such as when assistant referee David Bryan was struck by a flare thrown by away fans during Villa's home game with Spurs in October. Policing minister Damien Green has warned "someone could get killed" due to increased pyrotechnic use.
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The problem is not just confined to the top level. Last month police made three arrests following Hednesford Town's FA Cup first round game with Crawley Town at Keys Park.
In the first three months of the season, there were 96 pyrotechnic incidents across the Premier League, Football League, Football Conference and domestic cup competitions. There were just 172 incidents across the whole of last season.
"It's the biggest concern we've got among fans at the moment," said Cathy Long, head of supporter services at the Premier League.
"There have been incidents across the world where people have died. We've been lucky our leagues haven't had such major issues, but we want to stop that from happening."
The use of flares and smoke bombs is relatively new in English football.
One worrying trend shown in the survey is the use of children as "mules" to bring the pyrotechnics into the ground for others to use.
It claims at one Premier League game last season an eight-year-old entered with flares inside a rucksack and was seen passing them off to adults who then let them off.
The survey showed Everton, Manchester United and Wigan as the clubs involved in the most incidents with flares to date this season.
"Supporters may be unaware the use of pyrotechnics is actually illegal," said Football Supporters' Federation caseworker Amanda Jacks.
