Following complaints received from a number of members we contacted the Football Supporters Association who advised that they were aware of this issue at Brentford and that this is an issue which keeps cropping up.They recommended we make an official complaint to Brentford FC and the following was subsequently emailed to them this morning (October 1st)
We will keep you informed of developments.
We write on behalf of a number of West Ham fans, whose details we have, regarding searches at our game at the G-Tech Community Stadium on 28th September.
We wish to complain about the searches of wallets demanded before entry. It seems that a large number of our adult male fans were asked to hand their wallets over to security staff for them to check the contents.
A number of complaints were made by fans at the time who were told that it was a condition of entry and any refusal would mean non admittance.
Mostly no reason was given for the search, but some were told it was for drugs, weapons and even ‘contraband.’
We suggest that the searches are unlawful for the following reasons:
1 There is nothing on the ticket, the noticeboards around the ground or the official website about searching wallets or as to why.
The people complaining here have attended thousands of football matches between them and have never been asked to hand over their wallets before except at Brentford FC.
It is an exceptional and onerous term of contract and refusal of entry seems a breach given the lack of appropriate notice.
2 Wallets include private items and searching them is an intimate search of personal data. For example, photographs, credit cards, driving licences and banknotes were removed by unknown stewards despite complaint.
Your entry requirements include ‘reasonable searches,’ but this is unreasonable.
It is also a possible breach of the Data Protection Act as well as being far removed from what one would expect of a ‘community club’ - another low in the treatment of some fans.
3 The searches were only of adult male away fans and are therefore not random. Is it not discriminatory to apparently target searches to particular people and a breach of your own equality standards? Why do you not ask other ticket holders subject to the same terms to hand over their wallets or purses?
4 Assuming the searches are for drugs and not contraband duty evasion or the concealing of very small weapons, then why not use sniffer dogs and metal wands like all other Premier League clubs?
Drugs can be concealed anywhere and a dog is far more likely to find them than a selective search of wallets.
Your searches are even less proportionate given the better alternatives commonly used.
We have copied in the FSA as we understand they share some of our concerns. We would ask for a full reply to these points in writing before considering the position further.
Yours,
Paul Colborne.
Chair,Hammers United.
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