Just don't do it......it is illegal to let off a smoke bomb in a public place - full stop that is the law.
It is not an offence just to carry a smoke bomb or flare outside the stadium, is it?
YES – just carrying a smoke bomb, flare or firework in the area of the football stadium can be an offence if the police can show that you were attempting to enter the ground with it on you. I have seen cases where the police have arrested a fan with a flare as they came out of the train station closest to the ground. The police have argued that as the fan had a ticket for the game, was wearing colors and was with other fans, and was walking in the direction of the ground, that this showed that the fan would have attempted to enter the ground had they not been stopped by the police. That’s not to say that in some cases, the police interpretation of ‘attempting to enter’ shouldn’t be challenged in court, as there must be legal argument that a fan who is stopped at London Bridge Station about to get on a train to a football gound in South London is not ‘attempting to enter’, but the closer the fan is to the ground, the more likely the police will be able to argue that the fan was ‘attempting to enter’.
I won’t be committing an offence if I have a smoke bomb in my pocket in the ground but don’t let it off, will I?
YES – the law is very clear on this point, you don’t have to let it off, just having it on you in the ground is enough for you to be charged with an offence.
I won’t go to prison if I am found with a flare on me, but I don’t let it off, will I?
YES – you may be sent to prison. Recent cases have shown that the courts do not take pity on those found in possession of flares, smoke bombs or fireworks. In fact they are giving severe punishments and fans with no previous convictions are being given 3 months in prison, and on appeal the courts are upholding the 3 months prison sentence. The excuses of “I was just carrying it for a mate” or ‘A mate just gave it to me as we left the ground and i didn’t know what it was” are not being given much credit by the courts. If it is in the fan’s pocket, the fan is guilty and probably will go to prison.
Do the police have the power to stop and search me on the way to the ground to see if I have a smoke bomb, flare of firework on me?
YES – they have powers to stop and search you, and arrest you if they find any of these items on you.