It’s a week or so now since the law allowing drinking in Polish stadiums was introduced with the revolution delayed only by the ongoing winter break – the snow has not stopped the debate though, as clubs are questioned over the issue and probably counting possible profits already. But are Polish football fans ready to have a drink at football grounds?

Anybody who saw what happened straight after the last Polish Cup final between Legia Warsaw and Lech Poznan will certainly be worried about problems that may come from introducing alcoholic beverages by those clubs that see the sense in it. As hundreds of hooligans invaded the pitch to “celebrate” (Legia) or devastate (Lech), Polish Prime Minister Mr. Donald Tusk promised to make it his top priority to stop hooligans ruling the stands. Indeed, several stadiums were closed for different and often small and almost unnoticeable problems caused by a small percentage of those going to the games. However, just a few months after his strong statement the law was changed – despite claiming it is only for the European Championships that will be co-hosted by Poland this summer.

This issue was widely discussed a few months back when the Polish government was about to introduce it. It seemed absolutely everyone had an opinion about it, even the Polish Episcopal released the statement condemning the idea of allowing drinking in Polish sport stadiums. “This decision favors only those that draw huge incomes from selling alcohol and hurts citizens” – it said. The answer to their very bitter statement came from a rather reasonable Deloitte employee, Mr. Jacek Bochenek, who claimed that “once, we had rather paltry houses instead of stadiums that attracted small crowds but now we are talking about huge, new and safe grounds with thousands of people. Why take this pleasure away from them?”

Those that think drunkenness would be something new at Polish stadiums clearly have never been to a football game in this country. There is a common practice that before each game you go to the pub or have one or two beers somewhere close to the stadium and while the control may sometimes happen at the stadium’s gates, a huge number of those attending games have already consumed more Polish beer than you would imagine. Poland is no different to any other country.

Many times more than once or twice have I seen people so drunk at the stands that they were barely able to walk, yet somehow managed to get through the control and make it to their seats where they slept for most of the game. There was an older man sitting one row below me during Poland’s match with Italy in Wroclaw and, despite it being a freezing cold evening, he slept hard and only woke whenever anti-Polish FA chants were started – he happily joined them only to get back to his dreams a few seconds later. That is why if someone thinks that Polish football stadiums are a place of soberness they’re hugely mistaken.

The problem is that in Poland some will do everything they can to have their drinks at their seats during a game. For as long as I can remember, and it’s worth noting that I like to leave the ground when it’s almost empty after the game, there are bottles of vodka and beer all over the place, lying empty below seats – it happened even with a rising strictness of control at the gates.

Interestingly, only the Supporters’ Clubs’ Association is against introducing low-percentage breweries at Polish football grounds. It is worth noting that they have unfortunately a lot in common with those that cause problems and this is widely known in domestic football culture – it may not be about influence on those causing troubles but knowing them and too often covering for what they have done. They organized silent protests on the terraces when the decision to close every stadium was made, for instance, and one of the more powerful people there was a Lech fan that once beat up a guy and spat at a woman during a Polish national team match.

Their opinion though was not focused on anyone’s interests - brewery companies, politicians’ fights - but the wider issues of drinking in Poland; their representative, Mariusz Jędrzejowski said: “We don’t need alcohol in the stands. As a society, we are not ready for the changes.” Why so? Does he not know that people under the influence are easily noticeable at Polish stadiums? Is he maybe afraid that selling alcohol will be just like pouring fuel into the fire? Is it really that risky?

First of all, the control is easier nowadays with ultra-new stadiums and very strict rules of entering the grounds and special fan-cards are needed everywhere in the Polish top division. With the introduction of stewarding at stadiums and the policy to sit where your ticket is, catching those causing problems is easier than hooligans think, and arguably the failure to punish them in the Polish courts is a bigger, yet overlooked, issue. The new law shouldn’t be used as an argument in the discussion, no one should threaten others that it will increase the number of drunk people at Polish stadiums.

Those involved in the discussion are rather far away from knowing what the selling of low-percentage drinks would look like at the grounds – it would have its own, rather high price, making it a very costly pleasure for those that would like to enjoy a drink. Also, it would do a lot of good for Polish clubs – because of a very strict law regarding sponsoring from betting groups, the help of local beer brands would be very helpful for club’s budgets as not every one of them will be able to fill their new stadiums in full for every game.

The image of the drunk Pole is already firmly cemented in the wider world, being also a subject of many (un)funny jokes, but no one should care about how we look, especially when Polish football fans are making a great example lately of how loud and devoted they can be. Recall the World Cup in Germany in 2006, when Polish hooligans were expected to demolish everything that stood in their way but instead brought their chants and love to the game. Recent travels of Lech’s, Legia’s and Wisła’s supporters are also a heartwarming example that there is something more in them than the damaged image created by a few.

The concerns of those worried about the impact of beer being sold in stadiums would have been understandable a few years ago, when safety really couldn’t be guaranteed at all at the old grounds. But this is a different situation – while clubs are learning how to attract greater numbers to their new, all-seated stadiums, alcohol can really be one of the tools to introduce a new profile of fan and push troublemakers out of the gates.

Currently, only several clubs from the Polish top division are intensively thinking about introducing this at their grounds, while many refused without giving it a second thought. This could be another example of how years of brushing the hooliganism problem under the carpet have made clubs scared of the thought of even the slightest problems and effort to make it safe for fans, to make it like it is in Germany for example. They hide behind the cliché of the so-called “Polish drinking culture” but in truth, it is only delaying the inevitable and denying both clubs and fans their the opportunity of stepping to a different level – one so well known in better leagues than the Ekstraklasa.