Sports Editor Bill Schmitz takes a look at recent incidents involving pyrotechnics in football, and whether the risks outweigh the benefits.

By Bill Schmitz | Mar 24 2026

Pyrotechnics are making headlines again in Irish football, and not for the right reasons. A recent League of Ireland game between Dundalk and Drogheda United saw a 12-year-old boy get injured after a flare was thrown in the crowd. The child suffered burns and needed medical treatment. Both clubs condemned the incident and Drogheda fans got a 4-match ban for away games, a €15,000 fine and a ban on supporters attending all fixtures at Oriel Park for the remainder of the 2026 season.

With the League of Ireland continuing to grow in popularity, the atmosphere in the crowd becomes louder and more prominent. Flags, banners and coordinated chants have become noticeably better and more visible in recent years.

Pyro has come with that. For some fans, it’s just part of football now. Look across Europe and it’s everywhere. Germany, Poland, parts of Eastern Europe. Flares are a regular part of the matchday. They look good, they add something, they make games feel bigger.

But the risks aren’t really arguable. Flares can reach temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees and can cause serious injuries, including burns and breathing issues. In a packed stand, that’s dangerous. What happened in Dundalk wasn’t just bad luck, it’s what can happen when something like that goes wrong.

It’s also not just an Irish issue. Across Europe, pyro incidents are common. UEFA reports have found pyrotechnics present in over 25% of matches in European competitions, with clear safety risks identified for fans, players and officials.

Matches have been affected too. In the Netherlands, Ajax vs Groningen had to be abandoned after the stadium was full of smoke from flares. At Euro 2016, Croatia were fined €105,000 for multiple offences, including the use of flares that stopped the game.

Clubs face consequences just as much as countries. UEFA regularly hand out fines for the use of pyro. Rangers were fined €20,000 for pre-match pyrotechnics, with the threat of further sanctions if it ever happened again. In Germany, fines across the leagues amounted to €11.7 million in one season, with the majority of that linked to pyrotechnics.

Looking at Europe, there isn’t one clear solution. In Germany, pyro is banned but still widespread. Clubs are fined regularly, but the use continues. In some cases, fines for individual incidents have gone beyond €500,000.In Scandinavia, some leagues have tried to manage it. Supporter groups can apply in advance to use pyro, with approval needed from police and fire services. Displays are limited and supervised. It’s a more controlled approach, but it hasn’t removed the risks completely. In England, the approach is stricter. Pyro is banned and enforced more heavily, often involving police. Even then, incidents still happen, with matches delayed and fans arrested in recent seasons.

Ireland doesn’t really fit any of those models. Controlled pyro sounds like a solution, but it needs organisation and resources that many League of Ireland clubs don’t have. What works in bigger leagues doesn’t easily translate.

The debate itself is fairly simple. Pyro improves atmosphere, that’s clear. But the negative evidence is there as well: Injuries, fines and match stoppages all happen. The League of Ireland is growing, and the atmosphere is a big part of that. The question now is how far that should go, and whether pyrotechnics are worth the risk that comes with them.