Stamford Bridge Creates History As The First Premier League Game With Safe Standing
The Chelsea vs Liverpool game this Sunday became the first Premier League game since 1994 to have an official standing section, as the SGSA’s “safe standing” trial got under way at Stamford Bridge. A section of supporters in the Shed End at Stamford Bridge stood for the fixture after a pilot scheme was introduced by the government. Since 1994, all Premier League and Championship clubs have been required to have all-seater stadiums by law following the Taylor Report. The report was published in January 1990 after the Hillsborough disaster in April 1989, which led to 97 Liverpool fans losing their lives.
To avoid the potential of overcrowding safe standing restricts supporters to one space each, rather than one seat as outlined by the government proposals.
“Each supporter will occupy the same area that they would take up if they were sitting, with a traceable, numbered ticket. Barriers will be in place behind and in front of every individual. Seats must not be locked in the up or down position, so fans can choose to sit if they wish to, and the standing areas must not affect the views of other fans.”
Chelsea, along with Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Cardiff, will take part in the trial this season. Various other clubs across the divisions have installed rail seating at their grounds but are not taking part in the trial, making Chelsea vs Liverpool the first game where standing is officially permitted. If successful, a wider roll-out of safe standing will be introduced next season.
Minister for sport Nigel Huddleston acknowledge “Fans have long campaigned for the introduction of safe standing.” Before detailing how the pilot scheme would work, “I’m pleased that Stamford Bridge will launch this pilot programme that will allow us to carry out an in-depth trial at some of our biggest stadia over the remainder of the season, and inform a decision on a widespread roll-out. Safety will be absolutely paramount at all times. Detailed work is being carried out to monitor these early adopters, and the SGSA will work hand-in-glove with football clubs, supporters groups, local authorities and the police.”
Although standing is quite prevalent in away sections and some home sections of stadia’s at all levels of the football pyramid, Chief executive of the Football Supporters Association Kevin Miles echoed the thoughts of many by saying: “This is a huge step forward. This is something we’ve been campaigning for 30 years on. It’s great to see people now being offered the choice on whether to sit or stand at a football match. I will feel more secure having that safety rail in front of me there. I think that will make a difference to the confidence of fans in the stands about their own safety.”
Head of inspectorate of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) Ken Scott added: “The focus of the SGSA is the safety of all fans at sports grounds. We know there is a safety risk arising from fans who persistently stand in seated areas, demonstrated in independent research. The advent of new engineering solutions and the findings from our research has shown this can be managed safely. The early adopters programme will enable us to properly test and evaluate licensed standing areas and advise the Government in its next steps.”
