Are safe standing areas a viable option for British football?

Editor Dean Mears looks at whether safe standing areas are a viable option for British football.


On the 15^th April 1989, the biggest British sporting disaster turned the world of football on its head. 95 Liverpool fans died on that fateful day at Hillsborough, crushed to death for reasons that still, to this day remain unclear. 

Men, women and children were among those who tragically passed away, the 96^th and final victim Tony Bland passed away 3 years later after being left in a coma. It was left in the hands of Lord Justice Taylor to ensure that something like this never happened again, his report recommended changes that would change football forever. However, his report is now being challenged by the Football Supporters Federation, as they look to introduce ‘safe standing areas’ back into English football.

The Football Supporters Federation, have recently launched their online petition to introduce safe standing areas into football. The argument strecthes back to 2006, when 154 mps signed the Early Day Motion 101, to “re-examine the case for small, limited sections of safe standing areas at football grounds.” The FSF’s petition has now reached 10,000 signatures and step by step they feel they are closing in on success. Michael Brunskill from the FSF said “this isn’t going to be an easy battle to win but a lot of positives have occurred lately in a bit of a perfect storm”.

That perfect storm could be vital for any success the FSF has, cabinet secretary and the highest ranked civil servant Sir Gus O’Donnell came out in favour of safe standing and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has also said he is willing to listen to the evidence, Michael explained “it’s the first time in 20 years a sports minister has said they would do that”.

However a spokesperson from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said in a statement “The Government appreciates that there are some supporters who would like to see the return of standing areas at football stadia, but (the Government) do not believe that a compelling case has been made to change the policy. ”

The results of the Taylor Report means that now, in the top two divisions of English football, standing is forbidden. Michael explains “interestingly Taylor thought fans would grow accustomed to sitting, for thousands of people that hasn’t been the case – surveys regularly show that 9 out of 10 fans back the choice to stand”. Although, even if the FSF get the safe standing bill through parliament, the next stumbling block is encouraging clubs to invest in safe standing areas, Mr Brunskill said “we think that clubs would realise it can work commercially once they’ve seen examples elsewhere and gradually come round to the idea.”

Borusia Dortmund’s Südtribüne stand is the most famous example of a ‘safe standing’ area, it’s believed the support from this stand is better than any-where in the world. Jens Volke, a supporter liason officer at Borusia Dortmund, and season ticket holder on the Südtribüne stand told me why the stand is generates such a positive atmosphere, “most of the people around you are here for singing and shouting, not only for watching a football match.”

Dortmund's 'Yellow Wall'

The ‘Yellow Wall’ of Dortmund is famous across Europe, and Jens, who has travelled across Europe and especially in England to watch football says there is nothing that compares with the feeling of the Südtribüne Stand in his homeland, “most of the grounds I’ve visited are really quite, there was no good football-atmosphere…. For me, it was a surprise, because everyone was speaking about the great English football atmosphere.”

It’s always going to be difficult to open this topic up for debate due to those events at Hillsborough, Mr Brunskill from the FSF rightly stated that “the Taylor Report primarily blamed overcrowding, stadium layout, and poor policing. It did not ban standing nor claim it was inherently unsafe.” Yet human life is more important that any football atmosphere.


The fact that this argument hasn't been put to bed could possibly be the deciding factor in any government decision, this is a quote from John Terry about the atmosphere he experience at Anfield during a Champions League semi-final:

"The Liverpool fans were amazing. I have never heard anything like it before and I don't think  I ever will again. I walked out into that cauldron and heard the singing and saw the passion. The hairs on my arms were standing up"

Imagine if the famous Kop were standing, like those fans in Dortmund, perhaps they would have pushed Liverpool onto a Premier League title. The loss of lives at Hillsborough still plays a major part in football today, but if done correctly, like those in Germany, something special could happen to English Football.