A Lib Dem MP has called for Football clubs to be allowed to re-introduce standing terraces in their grounds.
Don Foster (Lib Dem, Bath) told the Commons that stadia in the United States, Canada and Germany provided safe standing areas which allow clubs to cut their ticket prices as more people can watch games.
The former sports spokesman said in Lord Justice Taylor's report into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool football fans died, the fact the supporters were standing was not highlighted as the cause of the fatal surge.
Introducing his Safe Standing (Football Stadia) Bill under the ten minute rule motion, the MP said the disaster happened "because of a culture of negligence, not because standing is inherently unsafe".
He said he was not calling for the re-introduction of "old-style" terraces but designated spaces for each fan with barriers between rows and optional flip-down seats.
The MP added: "It's worth noting that in making his recommendations, Lord Taylor said that fans would become accustomed to seating and come to prefer it.
"But 20 years later thousands of fans in the Premiership and Championship demonstrate that this is not the case.
"And when fans do stand in all-seater stadia today it causes real problems. It ruins the experience for those who want to sit but equally for fans who want to stand, sitting ruins their experience.
"But when they do stand, as many do, it is particularly unsafe. Yet, as we know, preventing large numbers from standing in all-seater stadia is extremely difficult for stewards and the police.
"If it can be done safely, and I believe it can be, it would be far better to have a mix of safe seating and safe standing areas in places where clubs choose to offer such options."
He added that properly designed standing areas met Fifa guidelines while helping newly-promoted clubs such as Scunthorpe United, which do not have all-seater stadia but have to adapt their grounds quickly and at considerable cost to meet national guidelines.
The decline in football hooliganism could not be linked to the introduction of all-seater stadia, while the latest Home Office figures showed no correlation between crowd trouble and stadia which had terraces, Foster said.
"Modern developments mean, as other countries have shown, it is possible to introduce safe standing into the Premiership and Championship clubs, if the clubs want to do it, and when stringent safety standards are met," he concluded.
Progress:
House of Commons
1st reading: 7 December 2010
2nd reading: 17 June 2011
Article Comments
What a moron Don Foster is!!!! Even attempting to bring back optional 'safe' standing areas is a slap in the face for the HJC that has fought tirelessly for over 21 years to bring JUSTICE for the crime that was committed at Hillsbrough on the 15th, April 1989, and the subsequent perpratrators to stand TRIAL for THEIR CRIME!! The 96 innocent men,women, boys and girls who went to a football match to watch their beloved team, will not die in vain, we will not allow that, and will fight every inch of the way!!!JFT RIP 96 Angels YNWA WNWA
Kevin Williams
7th May 2011 at 1:52 pm
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