Safe standing - time to act

[davieG]

3 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Was this in the Merc mate? 

Yes,

The Merc use to automatically incert their link when you copied stop but don't seem to now.

 

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/leicester-residents-been-backing-calls-1482881

[Bayfox]

I'm told the issue of safe standing is to be discussed at the FCC meeting, maybe now we will at least get the club to clarify it's position, even if it's only to say, until the law changes we are doing **** all to force the issue.

[Union FS]

 

[ajthefox]

Good to see Shrewsbury making progress. Honestly though it makes my fcking head hurt every time I look at the updates.There just isn't a valid argument against it. 

 

[yorkie1999]

2 hours ago, Union FS said:

 

Betcha daren’t stick any of those sheep shagger stickers on the safe standing seats

[davieG]

Safe-standing: Government begins talks over possible review

9 hours ago

From the BBC section Football

 

 

Government officials have spoken to the Premier League and EFL about a review into all-seater stadiums being mandatory at the top of the English game, BBC Sport understands.

Safe-standing in the Premier League and Championship will be debated in Parliament on 25 June.

 

A government source said the "time is right" to look at the issue.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch had said there were no plans to change the all-seater policy at stadiums.

She was speaking in April after West Brom, who have since been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, had a proposal to introduce safe standing at The Hawthorns rejected by the government.

Standing in English football's top two divisions was outlawed by the Football Spectators' Act in 1989, following recommendations made in the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans.

But, after more than 100,000 people signed a petition which called for Premier League and Championship clubs to allow safe-standing, the issue will be discussed in Parliament.

Crouch is understood to be keen to discuss safety at stadiums, and the impact of improved technologies and stadium design.

 

A government source said: "Safety of supporters is paramount. However we recognise that technology and stadium design has evolved since the all-seater policy was introduced and the time is right to look at the issue.

"The sports minister has not shut the door to fans keen on standing sections being introduced but it is important that all the evidence and viewpoints are considered extremely carefully."

West Brom proposed a pilot scheme that would have meant 3,600 seats at The Hawthorns were converted to 'rail seats', which can be locked in an upright position.

It was rejected by the government, and the Football Supporters' Federation responded by saying Crouch was "declaring war on fans".

Clubs including Scottish champions Celtic and Germany's Hoffenheim already use pockets of rail seating, and League One side Shrewsbury Town will install more than 500 this summer.

Celtic's safe standing: how does it work?

'A significant development' - analysis

BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent Richard Conway

Standing at football has not gone away with the advent of all-seater stadia in the Premier League and Championship.

At pretty much every match you can witness a group or groups of supporters standing - an issue which can result in injuries for fans who sometimes fall over the backs of seats, especially when celebrating a goal.

West Brom tried and failed to get permission for a trial. Since then an EFL supporters' survey showed there is overwhelming support amongst its fanbase for safe-standing to be introduced.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch has been subjected to unnecessary and at times unpleasant abuse on social media over the matter in recent weeks - but this policy review shows she is listening to the many voices within some big Premier League and EFL clubs, safety officers and fans who want her to consider changing the law.

This is a significant development, then - but there are still major practical issues to resolve if the review eventually recommends amending the legislation. Campaigners will be pleased - but their fight is not over yet.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44362522

[Sol thewall Bamba]

57 minutes ago, davieG said:

Safe-standing: Government begins talks over possible review

9 hours ago

From the BBC section Football

 

 

Government officials have spoken to the Premier League and EFL about a review into all-seater stadiums being mandatory at the top of the English game, BBC Sport understands.

Safe-standing in the Premier League and Championship will be debated in Parliament on 25 June.

 

A government source said the "time is right" to look at the issue.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch had said there were no plans to change the all-seater policy at stadiums.

She was speaking in April after West Brom, who have since been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, had a proposal to introduce safe standing at The Hawthorns rejected by the government.

Standing in English football's top two divisions was outlawed by the Football Spectators' Act in 1989, following recommendations made in the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans.

But, after more than 100,000 people signed a petition which called for Premier League and Championship clubs to allow safe-standing, the issue will be discussed in Parliament.

Crouch is understood to be keen to discuss safety at stadiums, and the impact of improved technologies and stadium design.

 

A government source said: "Safety of supporters is paramount. However we recognise that technology and stadium design has evolved since the all-seater policy was introduced and the time is right to look at the issue.

"The sports minister has not shut the door to fans keen on standing sections being introduced but it is important that all the evidence and viewpoints are considered extremely carefully."

West Brom proposed a pilot scheme that would have meant 3,600 seats at The Hawthorns were converted to 'rail seats', which can be locked in an upright position.

It was rejected by the government, and the Football Supporters' Federation responded by saying Crouch was "declaring war on fans".

Clubs including Scottish champions Celtic and Germany's Hoffenheim already use pockets of rail seating, and League One side Shrewsbury Town will install more than 500 this summer.

Celtic's safe standing: how does it work?

'A significant development' - analysis

BBC Radio 5 live sports news correspondent Richard Conway

Standing at football has not gone away with the advent of all-seater stadia in the Premier League and Championship.

At pretty much every match you can witness a group or groups of supporters standing - an issue which can result in injuries for fans who sometimes fall over the backs of seats, especially when celebrating a goal.

West Brom tried and failed to get permission for a trial. Since then an EFL supporters' survey showed there is overwhelming support amongst its fanbase for safe-standing to be introduced.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch has been subjected to unnecessary and at times unpleasant abuse on social media over the matter in recent weeks - but this policy review shows she is listening to the many voices within some big Premier League and EFL clubs, safety officers and fans who want her to consider changing the law.

This is a significant development, then - but there are still major practical issues to resolve if the review eventually recommends amending the legislation. Campaigners will be pleased - but their fight is not over yet.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44362522

Great news, could be a real breakthrough. 

[yorkie1999]

34 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

Great news, could be a real breakthrough. 

To me it reads "we'll discuss safe standing, but only because 100,000 signatures have forced us to" which is hardly someone in government trying to push it.

[Voll Blau]

2 hours ago, yorkie1999 said:

To me it reads "we'll discuss safe standing, but only because 100,000 signatures have forced us to" which is hardly someone in government trying to push it.

Shows how much of an impact that campaign has had in such a short space of time though. Power to the people.

[yorkie1999]

https://www.talksport.com/football/how-every-premier-league-clubs-home-stadium-could-benefit-safe-standing

 Kop it is then!

Edited 6 June 2018 by yorkie1999

[Voll Blau]

1 hour ago, yorkie1999 said:

https://www.talksport.com/football/how-every-premier-league-clubs-home-stadium-could-benefit-safe-standing

 Kop it is then!

 

Imagine that's where the club would want to put any section due to it being the other end from the away fans. Be great if guys in L/K/N got together to lobby for their blocks to be rail seated areas too though.

[yorkie1999]

Just now, Voll Blau said:

Imagine that's where the club would want to put any section due to it being the other end from the away fans. Be great if guys in L/K/N got together to lobby for their blocks to be rail seated areas too though.

No chance in a million years would they install safe standing next to away fans, i would have thought the biggest factor in location within a stadium would be the possibility of crowd trouble, in fact i would imagine that is the main consideration for allowing it in the first place. 

[Voll Blau]

1 hour ago, yorkie1999 said:

No chance in a million years would they install safe standing next to away fans, i would have thought the biggest factor in location within a stadium would be the possibility of crowd trouble, in fact i would imagine that is the main consideration for allowing it in the first place. 

Sadly I think that would be the club's line, but if enough guys who stand in those areas currently could get together and convince the club otherwise then you never know.

 

Logically it's just going to make it safer for those who stand now. The people in those areas isn't going to change. But football clubs never think logically about these kind of things do they?

[yorkie1999]

9 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

Sadly I think that would be the club's line, but if enough guys who stand in those areas currently could get together and convince the club otherwise then you never know.

 

Logically it's just going to make it safer for those who stand now. The people in those areas isn't going to change. But football clubs never think logically about these kind of things do they?

I think it's going to have to change, can't have your cake and eat it, and L1, K1 will end up being seated areas if the kop were to become a standing area. The whole point of all this is to allow standing at football matches and to be allowed to do it in a safe manner, they're not going to install rail seating in the ground and then turn round and say "well  you lot standing in the seated areas can carry on standing unsafely".  I'm not sure whether or not our supporters are prepared to accept the consequences of a safe standing area. 

[Voll Blau]

1 hour ago, yorkie1999 said:

I think it's going to have to change, can't have your cake and eat it, and L1, K1 will end up being seated areas if the kop were to become a standing area. The whole point of all this is to allow standing at football matches and to be allowed to do it in a safe manner, they're not going to install rail seating in the ground and then turn round and say "well  you lot standing in the seated areas can carry on standing unsafely".  I'm not sure whether or not our supporters are prepared to accept the consequences of a safe standing area. 

The club have to respond accordingly to whatever the appetite is. Any area(s) need to be large enough to accommodate everyone in the ground who wants to stand. Like I say, if people in blocks currently standing want to plead their case for a certain area to get rail seating then they need to organise and make their feelings known.

[yorkie1999]

2 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

The club have to respond accordingly to whatever the appetite is. Any area(s) need to be large enough to accommodate everyone in the ground who wants to stand. Like I say, if people in blocks currently standing want to plead their case for a certain area to get rail seating then they need to organise and make their feelings known.

I don't think the fans will really have any say in where it's located as it's fairly obvious the Kop or the 2 corners next to the kop or the west stand corner are the only places to install rail seats, they're not going to install them next to the away fans and a quarter the way up the east stand as that's just daft. It would partially block the view of supporters who sit in that stand. I think the only option is to relocate supporters from next to the away fans into the kop as rail seating would be able to accommodate an extra 30%, which also increases the ground capacity by about 3000.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

I'd agree that if by some miracle we ever get it here then standing in seated areas would be completely stamped out, and rightly so tbh. I think the ground needs a revamp, it's become very stale and I think that some big re-arrangements could be really refreshing. I'm going to make some generalisations here so brace yourself: 

 

People who are in L/K/J at the moment who stand are there for 'atmosphere', so you'd like to think if SS got put in elsewhere then they'd jump at the chance to get involved. The obvious spot in our ground is in the G1/SK1 corner as you could do it without blocking people's views. There's a lot of people in G1/SK1 currently who sit down, so you can broadly presume that 'atmosphere' is lower down those people's lists of priorities and perhaps a good view of the game is more appealing, and sitting where they are now is arguable the poorest view in the ground. The view from K/L is great from personal experience, so a swap of these two groups of people could work really well for everyone involved. 

[davieG]

6 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

I'd agree that if by some miracle we ever get it here then standing in seated areas would be completely stamped out, and rightly so tbh. I think the ground needs a revamp, it's become very stale and I think that some big re-arrangements could be really refreshing. I'm going to make some generalisations here so brace yourself: 

 

People who are in L/K/J at the moment who stand are there for 'atmosphere', so you'd like to think if SS got put in elsewhere then they'd jump at the chance to get involved. The obvious spot in our ground is in the G1/SK1 corner as you could do it without blocking people's views. There's a lot of people in G1/SK1 currently who sit down, so you can broadly presume that 'atmosphere' is lower down those people's lists of priorities and perhaps a good view of the game is more appealing, and sitting where they are now is arguable the poorest view in the ground. The view from K/L is great from personal experience, so a swap of these two groups of people could work really well for everyone involved. 

I sit in G1 and I love the view from there although my son wants to move into G2.

If they put SS in G1 I'd not be bothered about moving but you can bet there'd be plenty who'd be really annoyed to be made to move.

[Livid]

http://fcbusiness.co.uk/

 

A few pages in FC Business on the issue, digital version is a free read.

[Bayfox]

@Union FS

 

I know you had a rep at the meeting with the shadow sec today. Any chance he could do a write up for us once he's had time to feed back to You?

[ajthefox]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44407450

 

Labour officially now in support of safe standing. 

 

I've never heard of Dr Rosena Allin Khan before but she seems to be doing a very good job of pushing this. Great stuff.

[steveherbe]

Labours statement on safe standing was a feature on Planet Rock news earlier. Ok, its only Planet Rock, but the message is getting out there, so it is progress. Shame I'll be too old and knackered to join in by the time City get around to allowing it.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

Politics and football don't mix so I'm not advocating for or against Labour, but this is great to see. 

[Dan LCFC]

Well done Labour.

[Yes N'Didi]

The government have realised their initial response was inadequate and have provided an update, which includes the following:

 

Quote

We will continue to listen to supporters’ groups and other stakeholders who would like to see the reintroduction of standing at football in the top two tiers. The introduction of rail seating at Celtic Park and more recently at Shrewsbury Town FC informs the debate about the future of spectator accommodation at football matches. It is important that we have this debate and that it is informed by the evidence.

 

The Government is not complacent about spectator safety, nor are we complacent about the safety policies that have served spectators well for many years. But we acknowledge that policies must remain relevant and effective. Technology and stadium design have evolved since the all-seater policy was introduced. It is important that all the evidence and viewpoints are considered extremely carefully.

 

The Sports Minister looks forward to discussing at length the nuances and complexities of sports ground safety in Parliament later this month.