West Ham fan has newspaper confiscated for being an offensive weapon at Stoke

Fear not! Stoke City have identified the newest threat to football -- newspapers -- and are working to eliminate it. A West Ham fan attending his side's match against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium had his newspaper confiscated under a new policy that labels the old timey publication an "offensive weapon."

From the Guardian:

West Ham United fan Chris Barmby was carrying a copy of the Worcester News when he was stopped by guards atStoke City's Britannia stadium on 2 March.

He wastold that it was "new policy" to ban newspapers in case people set them on fire to use as a torch. As a retired firefighter, Barmby was not amused.

As he told the News, which splashed the story and ran an editorial calling the ban absurd, what's to stop someone setting light to a club programme?

Well at least with a club program, Stoke can make a bit of money off it before it sets the pitch on fire. So the logic there is flawless.