Etihad Stadium Enforces New Rules

The supporter received the news this week meaning that he is now free to attend the club's next match against Newcastle United.

The season ticket holder was handcuffed and escorted out of the club's stadium by the police after stewards had spotted him on CCTV using his electronic cigarette at half-time in Manchester City's match with Chelsea at the end of February.

The fan was initially asked to follow the stewards to a side-room on one of the stadium's concourses where he expected to be quizzed on what exactly it was he was using. Instead he was told that the electronic cigarette was banned and he had his season ticket taken off him before being forced to leave the ground.

In the weeks after the fan, who has asked not to be named, was removed from the stadium his story began to gather more and more news coverage, with everyone from national media to football supporters' bodies giving their views on the treatment of the supporter over the incident. One of the people to view this coverage was the Withington MP John  Leech who subsequently wrote too the football club to ask that they consider overturning their ban on both the electronic cigarette and the fan who had been apprehended for using one.

Although Mr Leech was sadly unsuccessful in encouraging Manchester City to change their overall stadium policy on electronic cigarettes, he was at least able to pressure the club to rethink their fan ban. Subsequently the club got back in touch with the supporter in question this week to advise him that he would be free to collect his season ticket from the club and begin to attend City home games once again.

Although not governed by the UK smoking ban due to the fact that they are tobacco-free and therefore allowed in public places such as pubs and on public transport, electronic cigarettes continue to be outlawed within the stadia of a number of professional football club. As well as the Etihad Stadium, Coventry City's Ricoh Arena, Portsmouth's Fratton Park and Leeds United's Elland Road all remain off-limits to electronic cigarette users at present. However bans are not universal across the sport, with Championship side Burnley actively encouraging use of electronic cigarettes within their Turf Moor ground.

Encouraging a blanket policy on electronic cigarettes across football stadia – ideally one as progressive as Burnley's – could well be the best long term solution to prevent incidents like this in the future. But until that is in force at least Manchester City have shown some common sense in retracting their original ban on one of their own fans who had simply made an honest mistake.