In a report published by The Sun, the Premier League has been hit by another pandemic besides coronavirus and that is the growing use of cocaine at games. Not only that the report also indicated that the use of the drug is leading to more fan violence at matches.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts told Sun investigators that the use of the drug, plus the passion in the stands was leading to a “toxic mix” of growing violence. “As we see more violent incidents, cocaine is one of those factors along with alcohol that will make it worse, and make people more violent,” said Roberts.
Cocaine use is being determined as the trigger to the scenes fans across the world saw in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley. Thousands of fans tried to storm the stadium and enter the final according to a report by the English FA.
The Sun investigators find cocaine in Premier League stadiums
The Sun reported that every stadium they went to or swabbed for traces of the drug came up positive. Manchester City’s home ground Etihad Stadium, empty baggies and one containing cocaine was found on the floors. Traces of the drug also turned up in the bathroom of Arsenal’s Emirates stadium.
While reporters and police are fearful that the use of the drug will ignite a return to the 1980’s English soccer hooliganism days, not much is being done to stop the increased use at games. Police Chiefs are requesting that fans caught using the drug be banned from games and Constable Roberts wants to bring in more sniffer dogs to detect the drug, but how that will work for games that at times bring in 50,000 people will be hard to examine. There is also a plea for clubs to install toilets with special surfaces which make it harder to take the drug.
A police officer stated, “Cocaine is now more common in broader society than ever before, and that includes football clubs and football fans… Where people are high on emotions which you do get in football, and then you add in cocaine use, that’s a pretty toxic mix as how people behave, and it often leads to extreme violence.”
