Rotherham United To Introduce Safe Standing For Away Supporters

Rotherham United have announced that a Safe Standing section is to be introduced in the Mears Group South Stand from the 2024/25 campaign onwards. The installation is following a request from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority brought about by the behaviour of some travelling supporters last season.

This is set to be actioned as a result of a series of potentially dangerous crowd behaviour issues in the away end in 2023/24 which were brought to the attention of the SGSA and now require the club to implement a Safe Standing area in the Mears Group South Stand in the interest of safety.

The Club have said it was also made clear that the alternative option, if they we not to install Safe Standing in this area, would have been to reduce the capacity of the South Stand.

Although the change in Law regarding Safe Standing within football stadia has seen it adopted more widely across the leagues, The Millers have stressed that this is not a decision they were set to make without external influence. Whilst the Club acknowledge the rationale of the SGSA for the installation of Safe Standing to safeguard the well‑being of away supporters, they have only reached this decision following several ultimately unsuccessful attempts to deal with the matter through communication and stewarding.

At present, there are no further plans to extend Safe Standing to any other areas of the stadium but it remains a topic that will continue to be reviewed both at Board level and in conjunction with the SGSA and local authority.

Image Credit: Rotherham United Football Club.