Statement from an Official of LCFC re Fosse Boys

[Ultra]

Had further response from the club. Will comment in more detail on this later this evening..

[Finnegan]

i see the mercury were decent enough to crop the picture...

but the internet can't hold its secrets forever...

here's the original....

lol

[Stand UP...]

I have had contact from Radio Leicester for an interview tomorrow with the Fosse Boys..I have forwarded this on to LCFC ARAB...this would be more great spotlight for the boys. Only problem is they want to meet them tomorrow which may proove difficult due to the meeting with the club.

EDIT - this may have already been sorted actually...only just got back from work and noticed the email...and see on the page before this it is on stringers twitter page

[Stig the Lawnmower]

I have been following the various fosse boys threads, initially with little interest I admit. but it now appears that the whole thing could get out of hand if you're not careful. I was a product of filbert st in the 60's, and my beleif is that seating should be reserved for the elderly, infirm or just plain lazy. football took a huge backward step when standing was banned, coming off the back of the tragic hilsborough disaster which we all know was not a result of fans behaviour during a match, but by incompetant behaviour by the authorities allowing uncontrolled access to the ground.

but the problem now is that the stadiums are not designed for standing, a forward rush would be likely to result in falls and injury, and probable subsequent law suits against the club for allowing standing. that's no doubt one of the reasons behind the clubs stance.

I don't have any solutions, but i would hate to see the club and yourselves getting further apart. it needs good dialogue, more importantly on a national scale to re-introduce designated standing areas, which WILL be safe. I have this feeling that you're possibly being viewed as a new baby squad.

I am in total support, but don't know what i can do. I will happily canvass for standing areas, who do i contact nationally or locally.

good luck, but don't make your club your enemy

[Fosse Boy]

I can confirm a group member has talked to a Radio Leicester reporter today.

[Stand UP...]

I can confirm a group member has talked to a Radio Leicester reporter today.

Nice one

[Guest]

Sorry if this has been answered but the thing thats bothering me is what is the law with regard to standing by supporters within a football ground? anyonr know the act and section of the relevant legislation?

[Guest Mee-9]

I have been following the various fosse boys threads, initially with little interest I admit. but it now appears that the whole thing could get out of hand if you're not careful. I was a product of filbert st in the 60's, and my beleif is that seating should be reserved for the elderly, infirm or just plain lazy. football took a huge backward step when standing was banned, coming off the back of the tragic hilsborough disaster which we all know was not a result of fans behaviour during a match, but by incompetant behaviour by the authorities allowing uncontrolled access to the ground.

but the problem now is that the stadiums are not designed for standing, a forward rush would be likely to result in falls and injury, and probable subsequent law suits against the club for allowing standing. that's no doubt one of the reasons behind the clubs stance.

I don't have any solutions, but i would hate to see the club and yourselves getting further apart. it needs good dialogue, more importantly on a national scale to re-introduce designated standing areas, which WILL be safe. I have this feeling that you're possibly being viewed as a new baby squad.

I am in total support, but don't know what i can do. I will happily canvass for standing areas, who do i contact nationally or locally.

good luck, but don't make your club your enemy

Good post.

That's the key thing, don't make the club your enemy, work with them, you might get a decent compromise at least!

[Shrenchel]

Sorry if this has been answered but the thing thats bothering me is what is the law with regard to standing by supporters within a football ground? anyonr know the act and section of the relevant legislation?

As I understand it, there is no law because it's not an actual crime. There's legilsation that says grounds in the top two divisions have to be all-seated, but whether fans sit, stand or do whatever the fvck else in those seated areas is only a breach of the ground regulations, not the law. The FLA reccomend that clubs have ground regulations which make persistent standing an ejectable offence but it's not actually arrestable officially.

Could be talking bollocks though.

[davieG]

I have been following the various fosse boys threads, initially with little interest I admit. but it now appears that the whole thing could get out of hand if you're not careful. I was a product of filbert st in the 60's, and my beleif is that seating should be reserved for the elderly, infirm or just plain lazy. football took a huge backward step when standing was banned, coming off the back of the tragic hilsborough disaster which we all know was not a result of fans behaviour during a match, but by incompetant behaviour by the authorities allowing uncontrolled access to the ground.

but the problem now is that the stadiums are not designed for standing, a forward rush would be likely to result in falls and injury, and probable subsequent law suits against the club for allowing standing. that's no doubt one of the reasons behind the clubs stance.

I don't have any solutions, but i would hate to see the club and yourselves getting further apart. it needs good dialogue, more importantly on a national scale to re-introduce designated standing areas, which WILL be safe. I have this feeling that you're possibly being viewed as a new baby squad.

I am in total support, but don't know what i can do. I will happily canvass for standing areas, who do i contact nationally or locally.

good luck, but don't make your club your enemy

A forward rush is only likely to happen if there's a goal or similar event and I think everyone would accept that people will be standing and would be allowed to stand for such an event whatever the regulations are. In fact a football crowd in a seated stadium is as much at risk if not more during such an event as they would be in a well designed standing situation.

Sorry if this has been answered but the thing thats bothering me is what is the law with regard to standing by supporters within a football ground? anyonr know the act and section of the relevant legislation?

Do a search for 'unreachable's' post he's quoted it enough times.

[Fossegirl]

As I understand it, there is no law because it's not an actual crime. There's legilsation that says grounds in the top two divisions have to be all-seated, but whether fans sit, stand or do whatever the fvck else in those seated areas is only a breach of the ground regulations, not the law. The FLA reccomend that clubs have ground regulations which make persistent standing an ejectable offence but it's not actually arrestable officially.

Could be talking bollocks though.

No you are spot on, no laws only reccomendations to clubs on what ground regulations they should have. Reccomendatiion is that persistant standing should not be allowed.

On the point of a forward rush resulting in injuries the official figures for this type of 'crush' injury for season 2008-2009 is less than 10 for a total attendance for the season of 36,577,108.

[Stand UP...]

Do a search for 'unreachable's' post he's quoted it enough times.

Yeah he's the offical Fosse Boys Stalker

[Simi]

Further to this, Leicester City Football Club would like to clarify that no supporters were refused entry to the Reading game on Saturday August 28th. However, a small group of eight supporters were relocated from SK1 to LK section.

Ahh right, so what the club decided would be a better idea is to over populate an area of the ground where it is mostly sold out season tickets?

I see the logic there.

[davieG]

Ahh right, so what the club decided would be a better idea is to over populate an area of the ground where it is mostly sold out season tickets?

I see the logic there.

And where people could be said to be persistently standing

[Simi]

And where people could be said to be persistently standing

Definitely. It's almost like some sort of area where like-minded fans are allowed to stand together without being bothered? Fancy that!

[leftsideoverhere]

I accept that you have passionate views on the matter but wonder how you can deal with the "practical reasons" referred to on the Football Licensing Authority's website

http://www.flaweb.org.uk/docs/faqs/faq002.php

“There are, moreover, a significant number of practical reasons against reintroducing standing terraces at our all-seated grounds. The conversion of all or part of a seating deck to standing accommodation would raise all sorts of complicated design and engineering issues relating to the gradient, the row depth, the viewing standards, the dynamic movement of the deck and the dynamics of the crowd.”

Having ideas is all very good but without addressing legal and practical issues......

All those "practical reasons" were also stumbling blocks in the way of converting stadia which did allow standing into all-seaters. But with the political will to make football "middle class" (shorthand, but I'm sure you know what I mean) all those practical problems were overcome. The same could be true in the other direction.

Just think about, for instance, the seats at Southend behind the goal, which are crammed so close together you're inevitably kneeing the person in front of you in the back if you sit down. And there are other stands like that which are basically standing terraces with some seats bolted on them.

But I think you're still conflating two different issues. One is a long term question about how football might move towards re-introducing designated standing areas in stadia, sections of the stands where there are no seats, and standing is expected. The other is about what football fans are, or are not, allowed to do in the meantime, in the all-seater stadiums we currently have. It's my contention that you won't find any evidence that standing in a seated football stadium has caused or contributed to any significant health and safety problem, nor that it extends evacuation time or puts people at risk in any other way, and therefore the clubs should continue (and extend) their de facto policy of turning a blind eye to fans choosing to stand in front of their seats rather than sitting in them, provided that they do so without blocking the view of other spectators. The debate around the Fosse Boys and our club's fevered response to them is mostly about the second of these issues, not the first.

[leftsideoverhere]

I just post to admire the intellectual rigour of the replies to my posts.

Well, finally, we're getting the credit we deserve.

[leftsideoverhere]

I have been following the various fosse boys threads, initially with little interest I admit. but it now appears that the whole thing could get out of hand if you're not careful. I was a product of filbert st in the 60's, and my beleif is that seating should be reserved for the elderly, infirm or just plain lazy. football took a huge backward step when standing was banned, coming off the back of the tragic hilsborough disaster which we all know was not a result of fans behaviour during a match, but by incompetant behaviour by the authorities allowing uncontrolled access to the ground.

but the problem now is that the stadiums are not designed for standing, a forward rush would be likely to result in falls and injury, and probable subsequent law suits against the club for allowing standing. that's no doubt one of the reasons behind the clubs stance.

I don't have any solutions, but i would hate to see the club and yourselves getting further apart. it needs good dialogue, more importantly on a national scale to re-introduce designated standing areas, which WILL be safe. I have this feeling that you're possibly being viewed as a new baby squad.

I am in total support, but don't know what i can do. I will happily canvass for standing areas, who do i contact nationally or locally.

good luck, but don't make your club your enemy

I appreciate the motive of your post, and you're certainly right that the Fosse Boys shouldn't want to make the club their enemy. And I'm pretty certain that they don't want to do that. I fully expect them to be reasonable and rational in their discussions with the club tomorrow, and that if there's any prospect of repairing the damage done by the club's precipitous action I'm sure the FB will do their best to be flexible about that too.

But the part in bold is a red herring I think. All of us who want to stand up at matches in current football stadia understand that the stands are different from the ones we stood in 30 years ago. I've stood at pretty much every away game that I've watched over the last couple of seasons, and most of those were in all-seater stadia. There hasn't been a 'forward rush' of any kind at any of them. At most, people jostle each other a little when they jump up and down or embrace fellow fans to celebrate a goal. There's nothing like the kind of crowd swell we used to get in the kop at Filbo when it was a proper standing kop, and I think I'm probably pleased about that. Exciting as it was, standing with your elbows locked against the fence in front of you just to make sure you had room to breathe isn't something I'd want to do again. But as this thread, and loads of others elsewhere on the forum have demonstrated, there are plenty of way to make permanent safe standing areas, and in the meantime all the evidence is that week in, week out, football fans the length of the country demonstrate that they are perfectly capable of standing safely and considerately in all-seater stadia. I fully expect to be doing just that next week at Coventry's new(ish) Ricoh Arena. I do it most weeks at the back of the kop at the Walkers and don't ever feel the need to fling myself into the people sitting or standing in front of me.

[Bert]

The club are full of shit. Twenty odd complaints my arse.

[Jacnah]

Why is it that reading the phrase 'no supporters were refused entry to the Reading game on Saturday August 28th' makes me instantly think of this?

[The Doctor]

Forget the troll - check out the guy with the scarf:

He looks pretty fierce. You wouldn't want to mess with him..

Be glad he's on your side..

tut. You're stood up in that picture, better be careful before you get banned.

[Stig the Lawnmower]

I appreciate the motive of your post, and you're certainly right that the Fosse Boys shouldn't want to make the club their enemy. And I'm pretty certain that they don't want to do that. I fully expect them to be reasonable and rational in their discussions with the club tomorrow, and that if there's any prospect of repairing the damage done by the club's precipitous action I'm sure the FB will do their best to be flexible about that too.

But the part in bold is a red herring I think. All of us who want to stand up at matches in current football stadia understand that the stands are different from the ones we stood in 30 years ago. I've stood at pretty much every away game that I've watched over the last couple of seasons, and most of those were in all-seater stadia. There hasn't been a 'forward rush' of any kind at any of them. At most, people jostle each other a little when they jump up and down or embrace fellow fans to celebrate a goal. There's nothing like the kind of crowd swell we used to get in the kop at Filbo when it was a proper standing kop, and I think I'm probably pleased about that. Exciting as it was, standing with your elbows locked against the fence in front of you just to make sure you had room to breathe isn't something I'd want to do again. But as this thread, and loads of others elsewhere on the forum have demonstrated, there are plenty of way to make permanent safe standing areas, and in the meantime all the evidence is that week in, week out, football fans the length of the country demonstrate that they are perfectly capable of standing safely and considerately in all-seater stadia. I fully expect to be doing just that next week at Coventry's new(ish) Ricoh Arena. I do it most weeks at the back of the kop at the Walkers and don't ever feel the need to fling myself into the people sitting or standing in front of me.

i take your point, but was not really the main thrust of my post. but the club would be wary of any such incident , it would only have to happen once. I stood at the Rico last year, not a hint of any problems, but would a club be liable for such an incident ? probably.

the main thing is to get standing areas without seats so you can move freely and everyone would be happy. it's something we need to lobby our new 'people freindly' (!) gov for.

once again i'm fully behind the fosse boys cause

up the city!!

[Lillehamring]

i take your point, but was not really the main thrust of my post. but the club would be wary of any such incident , it would only have to happen once. I stood at the Rico last year, not a hint of any problems, but would a club be liable for such an incident ? probably.

the main thing is to get standing areas without seats so you can move freely and everyone would be happy. it's something we need to lobby our new 'people freindly' (!) gov for.

once again i'm fully behind the fosse boys cause

up the city!!

but as davieG pointed out, even in areas of all seater stadia where seating is the norm, when a goal seems possible 99% of supporters stand up. when i get to the walkers i tend to sit in the west side of the kop and whenever there is an attack down the Kop end, everyone is standing, if an 'incident' happened during this period, you could ask the same thing - would the club be liable.

again it comes down to this bullshit between periodic and persistent standing - the level of risk is no different, yet the club and the league are trying to suggest that standing for 90 minutes is a greater threat to safety to standing up occasionally but at times when accidents are mostly likely to occur.

i'm glad you support the FB, i'm not having a go, just trying to dispel myths - the club are hiding behind safety issues, when their only issue is manipulation of fan behaviour and making things easy for themselves.

[C-man]

What defines an 'incident'? What level of injury would need to be investigated?

I always think bruises on my shins and other aches post match are a good sign - one that I'd been at a proper football match and celebrated a goal in the correct manner. I'm sure a few will agree with me on that.

[smallpauldj]

if you get into a ground when the doors open you could stand right up until the ball is kicked maybe a hour or hour and a half i think would pass in that time, again you can stand at half time so why is the match any different? i can only think its cause you can block peoples views but fosse boys are at the back and not in anyone's way so it beats me....