Premier League Introduces League-Wide Bans for Discriminatory, Abusive Behaviour

Premier League clubs now have the power to issue a blanket, division-wide ban to any fan found guilty of violent or abusive behaviour. 

The league passed the new guideline following a meeting of the shareholders on Thursday. Under the new edict, a supporter banned by one club "will also be banned from every other ground in the division, the league announced on Thursday," per Paul MacInnes of The Guardian.

Those in attendance at the meeting voted unanimously to tighten the enforceable punishments in response to abusive behaviour.

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Premier League: pic.twitter.com/yhZHy2J8Jj

— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) February 6, 2020"

The measure has been ratified on the heels of disgruntled supporters attacking the home of Manchester United shareholder Ed Woodward in January. Flares were reportedly thrown at Woodward's Cheshire residence, with United quickly promising to ban anyone found responsible for life.

Fellow Premier League side Bournemouth meted out a lifetime ban on Thursday, prohibiting a 17-year-old fan from attending any further Cherries games after the teenager admitted he was guilty of racist chanting when Bournemouth faced Tottenham Hotspur back in November, per BBC Sport. A court also imposed a three-year ban from attending all football matches. 

Thursday also saw Josef Smith, a season ticket holder of Wolverhampton Wanderers, given a four-year ban by the court after being found guilty of making racist gestures toward Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham during a 3-2 win for the Blues back in September, per Press Association Media (h/t Sky Sports).

The new directive from England's top flight represents the league's latest attempt to deal with a growing tide of abusive behaviour from the stands. Encouraging clubs to join together and follow a set policy for taking offenders to task makes sense.

A unified policy is the best way to combat a problem that negatively impacts every club involved.

It's the most significant development to come from a meeting where shareholders also agreed to extend the summer transfer deadline to September 1, following a one-year experiment to close the window in time for the start of the season, per Sky Sports.