[Football] WBA Safe Standing proposal turned down...

[Titanic]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43701400

West Brom have had a proposal to introduce safe standing at The Hawthorns rejected by the government.

The pilot scheme would have meant 3,600 seats in the Smethwick End were converted to 'rail seats', which can be locked in an upright position.

West Brom - who are bottom of the Premier League - hoped to install them in time for next season.

Sports minister Tracey Crouch says there are no plans to change the all-seater policy at football stadiums.

That law was introduced followed recommendations made in the Taylor Report into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans.

But West Brom say their proposal was based on safety concerns, because of persistent standing.

 

[Bob!]

shame

 

[maffew]

****ers

 

[Richy_Seagull]

Ridiculous

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Tory government clearly still have it in for football supporters.

 

[jasetheace]

Good. How to uglify perfectly good stadia. I stand for big chunks of every game in the North but I like the option of sitting from time to time on my nice padded seat. I do not believe that this has majority support among the entire Albion watching public.

 

[Easy 10]

And yet Shrewsbury are installing safe standing for next season (albeit only about 500 rail seats at the back of one of their stands).

 

[jonny.rainbow]

Good. How to uglify perfectly good stadia. I stand for big chunks of every game in the North but I like the option of sitting from time to time on my nice padded seat. I do not believe that this has majority support among the entire Albion watching public.

I’m glad to be in the minority in appreciating the beauty of open terracing at football grounds then.

All seater bowls are ugly beyond belief and actually less safe than terracing when spectators stand en masse.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

The government is clueless.

 

[jackalbion]

Tory government clearly still have it in for football supporters.

They’d rather watch the rugger with their pals, where everyone can drink in their seats and stand.

 

[Javeaseagull]

They would have to admit that it wasn’t standing that was to blame for Hillsborough and they ain’t gonna do that.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Will they be able to take them out in League one?

 

[wellquickwoody]

Tory government clearly still have it in for football supporters.

Are you Ernest in disguise?
Are you Ernest, are you Ernest?
Are you Ernest in disguise?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Tory government clearly still have it in for football supporters.

I really don't think there's any spite in this - more that they just don't understand, and so will see no tangible reason to take the risk of upsetting the 'safe' status quo.

The thinking will be "people once died and fought at football didn't they? Since we made them all sit down, that doesn't seem to happen. Why risk changing it back?"

The romantic / intangible pros that we might see (atmosphere, noise, etc) will simply not register against their perceived potential cons.

 

[GT49er]

Tory government clearly still have it in for football supporters.

Yes, still clinging to the Margaret Thatcher dictum that football supporters are animals and scum. They still won't admit their precious goddess was wrong, or that the Taylor report did what the government at the time required it to do.

 

[GT49er]

Are you Ernest in disguise?
Are you Ernest, are you Ernest?
Are you Ernest in disguise?

He clearly is not - but in this case Ernest would have plenty agreeing with him.

 

[The Albion Roar]

They would have to admit that it wasn’t standing that was to blame for Hillsborough and they ain’t gonna do that.

The upshot is that the Government is advised by the SGSA (Sports Ground Safety Authority), a body who largely operate on evidence-free considerations. The people who sit on this not only have a pre-determined agenda of opposing safe standing, they want all clubs to enforce sitting across all stadia, in the face of any safety considerations in a given situation.

For their part, the government say they want to hear more evidence that safe standing is... safe. WBA, in trying to provide that evidence, have been told they can't trial it. So now in order to get that evidence, clubs would have to break the law - and hence risk losing their licences to stage football.

The examples of Celtic and across Germany are irrelevant, according to the SGSA as the culture is different. Apparently.

The spirit of 1990s immediate post-Hillsborough politics lives on.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

 

[dangull]

And yet Shrewsbury are installing safe standing for next season (albeit only about 500 rail seats at the back of one of their stands).

Celtic have had it for a few years now. Apparently, it helps create more of an atmosphere.

 

[beorhthelm]

now hang on, this is confusing. i have read that this isnt strictly a government decision, they legislate all seater but its actually down to league rules that stipulate no standing. Safe standing is based on the premise that there is a seat just not used, correct? hence the Celtic safe standing area. so is this the proposed plan from WBA is flawed, or they bypassed League rules to hit a government wall?

 

[maffew]

Good. How to uglify perfectly good stadia. I stand for big chunks of every game in the North but I like the option of sitting from time to time on my nice padded seat. I do not believe that this has majority support among the entire Albion watching public.

errr where and when has anyone suggested that the MAJORITY of support want safe standing (and by the way if you stand for big chunks of the game anyway, you are 1) Blocking someones view who may or may not want to sit down and see because of your selfish actions - unless you are in back row, then you're alright hey? And 2) if your seat flipped up it would be a heck of a lot safer and you would have more room for when you wanted to stand or sit).

So in a nutshell you want to stand up and do so when you want to anyway or am I missing something? (maybe you havent done your homework and are getting safe standing and 80s style terraces a little mixed up hey?)