GRIMSBY Town fans who received football banning orders after hundreds of fans stormed the pitch at Burton Albion in 2010 have been told they can only return to Blundell Park if they buy a season ticket.
As reported, in the wake of the trouble that followed the Mariners' 3-0 defeat and relegation from the Football League, 49 fans were convicted and football banning orders totalling almost 200 years were imposed.
However, they are now coming to an end and, while the club is looking forward to welcoming the majority of the supporters back to the fold, it has taken the step to ensure all fans' safety in the future.
Grimsby Town director John Fenty said: "It is club policy that people coming off Burton Albion bans require a season ticket for this season.
"While not everyone is a bad sort, and there are those who were treated reasonably harshly considering they had not done that much, the club has to be seen to put a policy in place."
He added that by ensuring all those caught up in the trouble had season tickets, not only would the club know where they were sitting, but it would also ensure they could not simply pick and choose matches to attend in order to cause trouble.
Mr Fenty said: "There are a number of people coming off Burton bans who I am pleased to know personally and we are looking forward to welcoming them back and allowing them to continue supporting the club they love.
"It is a catch-all, but, unfortunately, among the true supporters there are some troublemakers and if they behave badly, they will be banned."
However, Chris Parker, chairman of the Mariners' Trust supporters' club, said while he understood the club wishing to monitor some of those involved in the trouble, he did not believe a "one-size-fits-all" approach was fair.
He said: "There was some overzealous crowd management on the day and there were varying degrees of misbehaviour.
"Yes, we want to encourage more and more families to come along to games and no-one wants their child to be seated next to someone who is likely to be violent.
"That said, when Grimsby Town dropped out of the league, some of the people who got banning orders did so because they were emotional and maybe kicked out at an advertising board in frustration.
"Yes, they have done wrong, but there are degrees and each case should be looked at individually."
He added the trust had not been consulted before the measure had been introduced, adding: "I have not heard of any other clubs taking steps like this.
"In this country, when you do wrong, you are punished and when you have served your punishment, that's it."
