Simon Jordan hits back at West Ham chief Karren Brady comments, ‘Pack it in’
Simon Jordan has rebuffed claims from West Ham United chief Karen Brady after she suggested football supporters should be able to take pints into the stands at stadiums.
When it comes to figures at West Ham, Brady is certainly in the headlines as much as the next and her latest comments have seen her enter the spotlight yet again.
The Hammers chief claimed that supporters should be allowed to consume alcohol in the stands at men’s football games after successful trials in the women’s game [The Sun], with Jordan seemingly shocked that it would even be a consideration.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (4 February, 10:28), Jordan said: “What is the purpose of this conversation? Is the purpose of this conversation for people because there’s a big outcry for more drinking inside football stadiums, or is it because there’s commercial opportunity behind it?
“We don’t live in an ideal world. Pack it in. The culture of women’s football is completely different so pack it in with the comparisons – it’s not necessary.
“When women’s sport operates at the level of intensity and value and commercial reality as men’s football, let’s see what happens, let’s see how that manifests itself.
“But she is right to draw a comparison. Men and women are different and they behave differently of course.”
West Ham chief Karen Brady proposal the recipe for disaster
Quite frankly, if supporters were allowed to do what Brady has proposed, it would be a logistical nightmare and football games would become a dangerous event as opposed to something to look forward to.
Enough trouble and violence are already caused by drunken fans on a weekly basis, and those concerns would only be amplified if supporters were able to consume alcohol whenever and wherever they desired.
Keeping trouble to a minimum and ensuring alcohol can only be consumed in certain areas is paramount to the safety of supporters, and as Jordan said, comparisons cannot be made to that of women’s football.
With all of the trouble that has happened in the stands of various grounds across the country, efforts need to be made to reduce that, not provide them with another route of violence or aggregation.
The idea seems like a non-starter, and its highly unlikely to be brought into effect anytime in the near future.
In other West Ham news, Dermot Gallagher gave his reaction to the controversy in the Irons defeat to Chelsea.
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