English FA "in favour" of safe standing at Premier League grounds - Liverpool FC - This Is Anfield
Safe standing rail seats

English FA “in favour” of safe standing at Premier League grounds

A report to be presented to the government by the Football Association will be in favour of clubs choosing if they want to have safe standing.

In the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster and the deaths of 96 fans at the semi-final in 1989, all-seater stadiums were made mandatory by the government.

However, recent years have seen a gradual shift in some sections toward acknowledging an alternative, and indeed safer, option.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch announced over the summer that a thorough analysis should be undertaken to evaluate the viability and safety of allowing standing sections in stadia once more.

Crouch has recently met with supporters groups, including Liverpool representatives.

Safe standing sections are already in use in Germany, the Netherlands and, over the past two seasons, at Celtic in Scotland.

MUNICH, GERMANY - Tuesday, August 1, 2017: Liverpool supporters sitting in rail seats during the Audi Cup 2017 match between FC Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC at the Allianz Arena. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

And The Times report that the FA are in favour of allowing clubs to choose whether or not they want to provide safe standing sections.

A comment from the FA in the article states “The FA… supports clubs and leagues in having the option to choose whether they wish to provide standing options for supporters should there be clear evidence that satisfies the authorities over safety and security.”

It is expected that the report could be completed by Christmas. Research undertaken by the Premier League found that 70 per cent of fans would like to have the choice over safe standing, while all 20 Premier League chairmen followed suit.

A vote from the Liverpool supporters union, Spirit of Shankly, in 2017 found 88 per cent of supporters were in favour of the introduction of rail seating areas in football stadiums.

More from This Is Anfield

Fan Comments

Logo

Looks like your ad blocker is on.

×

We rely on ads to create independent Liverpool FC content for fans like you to enjoy for free.

Please support This Is Anfield by disabling your ad blocker.

Continue without supporting us

Choose your Ad Blocker

  • Adblock Plus
  • Adblock
  • Adguard
  • Ad Remover
  • Brave
  • Ghostery
  • uBlock Origin
  • uBlock
  • UltraBlock
  • Other
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
  2. Click the large blue toggle for this website
  3. Click refresh
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
  2. Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
  2. Click on the large green toggle for this website
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
  2. Click "Disable on This Website"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
  2. Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
  2. Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
  3. Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
  4. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
  2. Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
  1. Please disable your Ad Blocker

If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers).