European football’s top clubs, leagues and national associations have teamed up with Football Supporters Europe (FSE) to urge public authorities to only use blanket bans of away fans at matches as a last resort.The united position was reached at the UEFA Safety and Security Conference in Madrid, where hundreds of experts gathered this week to discuss the contribution made by travelling supporters to European football and the challenges posed by collective bans.FSE, the umbrella group that represents fans’ associations in 50 European countries, has been lobbying against the disproportionate use of bans following a spate of high-profile examples – most notably the decision made by Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa in November 2025.That decision was heavily criticised by the then-UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and resulted in the early retirement of the WMP’s chief constable Craig Guildford, who is now the subject of a gross misconduct investigation related to his decision to recommend a total ban of the Israeli team’s supporters.While that case attracted global headlines, it was far from an isolated incident.In 2023, FC Basel fans were prevented from attending a Europa Conference League semi-final second leg in Nice because the local authorities were worried strikes in France would hinder their ability to police the game, despite there being no history of trouble between the teams. Basel fans watched the game at bars on the border instead.In 2024, the local authorities in Lyon issued a collective ban against Besiktas fans ahead of a Champions League game because of memories of a crowd violence seven years before, while the Parisian police refused to allow PSV Eindhoven fans to attend a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.And in 2025, the French Interior Ministry tried to close the French-Belgian border to stop Feyenoord fans attending a game at Lille, Parisian police tried to ban Bayern Munich fans from a PSG game and the prefect of Naples barred Eintracht Frankfurt supporters from watching their team play Napoli.All these examples, and others, were criticised by fans’ groups at the time for being disproportionate responses to safety concerns, often reached without any accountability, due process or transparency.These protests attracted the interest of the Council of Europe, the international organisation set up in 1949 to uphold human rights and the rule of law in Europe which now numbers 46 members, including the United Kingdom.In October 2025, its Committee on Safety and Security at Sports Events issued a non-binding recommendation to its member states on the use of collective bans of away supporters. It said national legislation on exclusions from sports events “should prioritise individual accountability over collective restrictions, ensuring that sanctions are targeted at those responsible for disorderly conduct”.It also said collective bans “should only be considered in exceptional circumstances where there is clear, recent and objective evidence” to support them, and added that these decisions should be reached after wide consultation and be communicated as soon as possible to avoid fans wasting money on travel and accommodation.Following this week’s meeting in Madrid, UEFA, European Football Clubs, European Leagues and the FSE have now jointly endorsed the Council of Europe’s recommendation and asked public authorities across Europe to follow five principles: prioritise individual accountability, restrict blanket bans to exceptional circumstances, bring football stakeholders into the decision-making, ensure timely communication and promote fairness.“Supporters, including away supporters, make a vital contribution to the atmosphere, cultural identity, popularity and sporting integrity of football competitions at all levels,” the four bodies said in a joint statement.“Supporters have the right to travel to and attend football matches and follow their teams both at home and away, while respecting applicable laws and regulations. This is a long-established and valued feature of European football culture.”In a post on its X account, FSE added: “Away fans belong in Europe. Collective bans cannot be the default response to safety and security concerns.”What will be interesting to see, however, is how UEFA itself handles these issues when it makes disciplinary decisions based on fans’ behaviour at European club games.While the focus of this initiative has been to encourage more discretion from local councils, national governments and police forces, UEFA itself has dished out collective bans of away fans, most notably a five-game ban for Legia Warsaw fans after serious crowd trouble at a Europa Conference League game at Aston Villa in 2023.