(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, if persons are admitted as spectators to, or permitted to remain as spectators on, any premises during a period relevant to a designated football match without a licence to admit spectators being in force, any responsible person commits an offence.
(2)Where a person is charged with an offence under this section it shall be a defence to prove either that the spectators were admitted in an emergency or—
(a)that the spectators were admitted without his consent; and
(b)that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence.
(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.