The government is poised to make its most significant shift towards allowing safe standing at football matches by commissioning a review of the policy which demands all-seat stadiums.
The sports minister, Tracey Crouch, had previously been unmoved by calls to overturn the ban on standing which was introduced following the Hillsborough disaster and has been in place for more than 20 years. Crouch was criticised in some quarters for the government’s decision to reject an application by West Brom to introduce a safe standing section.
But it is understood she feels advances in stadium design plus a swell of public enthusiasm for introducing safe standing mean it is time to review the policy. Crouch is due to address a Westminster debate on safe standing on 25 June.
A survey by the Football League last month indicated 94% of 33,000 fans asked wanted safe standing to be introduced. It would require an overturning of legislation. Standing in English football’s top two divisions was banned by the Football Spectators’ Act in 1990 after recommendations made in the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans.
Some families of the victims remain opposed to the introduction of safe standing so there are obvious sensitivities around the issue. But a survey by the Liverpool supporters group Spirit of Shankly last year showed 88% were in favour of safe standing. It has proved successful across Europe, particularly in Germany’s Bundesliga and in Scotland, where Celtic have trialled a safe standing section for 2,600 fans for the past two seasons.
More than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for Premier League and Championship clubs to allow safe standing, meaning the issue will be discussed in parliament. It will be a welcome boost for campaigners who have presented expert opinion that safe standing will reduce, rather than increase, the danger to fans inside football stadiums.
West Brom’s rejected pilot scheme proposed a proposed altering the design of their ground to accommodate 3,600 rail seats, which can be locked in an upright position and which some experts claim reduce the risk to fans falling over while celebrating a goal.
