This article is part of a Herald Sport special on disabled facilities in Scottish football, shining a light on the progress that has been made, the work that still needs to be done, the help that is available to clubs and the barriers to accessibility that disabled fans face.
Sometimes, when it comes to improving disabled access to football, there is more to it than meets the eye. And when massive steps forward are made in one area, they can sometimes be accompanied by a lack of progress, or a step backwards in others.
Take the raised platform that Kilmarnock have built in the Moffat Stand for their home supporters, for instance. For Killie fans like Laurie Finlayson, it has been a transformational addition to his experience of going to Rugby Park.
"Absolutely, it has,” Finlayson said.
“I mean, it's a completely different experience from before the platform was actually installed.
“If I’m being really picky, I would have preferred the platform to be a wee bit higher up, but when you look at it, you are sitting at a reasonable height. You feel you're as high as everyone else and most importantly, you are in amongst the crowd. That's one of the biggest things, because in many disabled sections up and down the country, you do feel quite segregated.
“It has definitely lived up to the expectations and I’m obviously so grateful to the club and everyone who contributed for getting it done.
“I think over and above the physical facilities though, there has to be a commitment from all clubs just to make it a more inclusive experience, you know? It's not just about, 'We are in the stand, so that's great.' That is fantastic, don’t get me wrong, and you've got that at Killie, you're part of the crowd.
“But it's also the whole match day experience.”
What Finlayson is referring to are the issues that may not be immediately apparent to those who are fortunate enough to be able to do something as simple as buying their tickets for the match online, or even pay for them on the day with their bank card.
“Buying tickets is a great example,” he said.
“Very often, you can’t buy tickets online, or you can’t pay with your card.
“This isn’t me having a go at Killie here or any other club, but just as an example, when I bought my season ticket this summer the options were to either pay in cash or by cheque.
“That isn’t exclusive to Kilmarnock in any way, but it just sort of shows that when it comes to dealing with disabled supporters, a lot of these things are kind of stuck behind the times.
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“At away games, you have to phone ahead, you have to email ahead, and a lot of the time, you have to go and lift cash. It just leads to an inconsistency of service and adds another level of stress for disabled supporters.”
"One thing I would love is if you could choose where to sit,” he said.
“That is so important as well. I love to be able to sit in the new platform in the Moffat Stand, but say, for example, if you wanted to be over where the atmosphere is in the East Stand or whatever, you can't do it.
“That’s why it was really a good thing for me when they built the raised platform at the back of the North Stand at Hampden.
“What they used to do was put you at the bottom of the South Stand, but in the North Stand now there's a really good, raised section where you are amongst the crowd, people can come and talk to you and catch up and whatever, just as anyone else would in the stand. And that is incredibly important.
"As a disabled fan, I just wish they would shout about it a bit more. It is incredible, and for a while, I didn't know anything about it.
“What happened was we were going to the Poland game and my uncle was sitting in the North Stand, so I just asked, 'Can I sit in the North Stand so we can be in the same end?’
“At no point was I told what that area was like. I assumed it was just on a bit of concrete on the side of the stand, and I was just on the periphery, I didn't think it for a minute it would be what it was.
“But when I sat there, it's practically on halfway, the atmosphere was great. It's absolutely fantastic.
“We need to shout about these things and show when good work is being done.”
