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Premier League clubs begin banning selfie sticks

Selfie sticks have rapidly become one of the most divisive pieces of tech on the market. Many people have jumped on the bandwagon, loving the extra quality vanity shots, but equally as many folk have been left cringing and gagging on the side-lines.

It seems that the biggest concern might not be how much of a pillock you look whilst using one though, as several Premier League football clubs have moved to ban them from their stadiums because of security concerns.

The sticks, which basically resemble a collapsible truncheon when not in use, are being outlawed because it occurred to security personnel that they could be used as, well, a truncheon, and when clubs have been forced to ban virtually everything from their terraces because of nitwits whacking each other with them, this was always going to happen.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were the first clubs to legislate against them. A spokesperson for Arsenal was quoted in the New Journal as saying: “We can confirm that ‘selfie sticks’ are banned on match days at Emirates Stadium. The club’s ground regulations prohibit any object that could be used as a weapon or could compromise public safety.”

Shortly after, Tottenham Hotspur’s stance was made public after Twitter user @LiamCSWY shared his concerns in an email to their customer care team, and received a reply, which stated in no uncertain terms that: “Upon review, selfie sticks have now been banned from entering White Hart Lane. All stewards will be briefed prior to the next home fixture.”

This wouldn’t be the first time a form of technology has been deemed too dangerous to be taken to matches; in 2013, the powers-that-be at Manchester United decided that laptops and tablet PCs had the potential to be used for hiding explosives, leading them to state that no tech bigger than a mobile phone or camera would be permitted inside Old Trafford from that point on.

We can’t imagine it will be long before other clubs, or indeed other public arenas, take the same stance on these Wands of Narcissus, making us wonder if selfie sticks are even worth the investment. Sure, they give us a slightly wider angle when posing for a picture, but are they really worth all the added aggro?

What’s your view? Are selfie sticks a harmless piece of fun which people are taking far too seriously, or are the potentially nefarious uses enough to put you off completely? Let us know. 

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