Opinion: Steve Rotheram MP, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton, believes a return to standing sections in football stadiums — driven primarily by nostalgia — could undo all the progress made in the aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster.
It might appear slightly perverse that in the year of the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, some Football League clubs in England are moving towards a return to standing in football.
Bristol City have already introduced a rail seating system at its Ashton Gate ground and many other clubs are rumoured to be interested in adopting this approach.
However, the argument about standing in football should not be conflated with the tragic events at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium on 15 April 1989 despite the fact that there is no doubt that standing terraces were a contributory factor.
The final Lord Justice Taylor report into the Hillsborough disaster recommended top-tier football clubs convert to all-seater stadia. It was not a universally popular recommendation and a minority of fans today still believe it was the wrong one.
Yet undoubtedly it was a recommendation that has changed the face of English football forever. The whole culture of the game has altered and it is no coincidence that these positive changes came hand-in-hand with improvements to the safety of spectators.
I would be the first to confess that I would love to see a return to the kind of match day atmosphere I was accustomed to in the 80s when my football club were winning everything before them. Whilst a return to on-field successes would be desirable, I certainly do not want to return to the kind of experiences off the pitch that were commonplace in those days.
For many people, they will never have experienced standing at football matches -other than the persistent standing that is a feature of the modern day game.
On the old terraces there were no allocated spaces, so sometimes crowds jostled outside as fans desperately wanted to get into the stadium to claim their regular ‘spec’, some of which had been passed down father to son. Women did attend matches, but the overwhelming majority on the terraces of the day were male.
When I was a kid, I remember injuries to spectators being a frequent occurrence. Injured fans (sometimes at the back of the terrace) would be passed hand-by-hand overhead by fellow supporters to the front to receive treatment at pitchside.
As a young fan, there was the constant trepidation of losing friends in the crowd and the breathlessness caused during surges back-and-forth or side-to-side as the crowd swayed in times of heightened excitement.
People were worried about moving from their hard won vantage, so refreshments consisted of sellers walking round the side of the pitch flogging chewing gum or Mars bars, like usherettes at the cinema. Coins would be rendered and goods would be thrown in the direction of the purchaser – as would their change!
You couldn’t get to or from toilets unless you were at the periphery of the stand, so apocryphal tales of fans urinating into rolled up newspapers causing streams of urine to cascade down the steps of the terrace are legendary.
That was a weekly reality for many football fans.
It is understandable when you watch black and white footage of raucous crowds in full voice cheering their teams on and the atmosphere that was generated, that people view those days through rose-tinted glasses.
There is nothing wrong with nostalgic romanticism. We all look back at times when ‘things were different’, but there are more complex reasons for the perceived reduction in noise generated in modern stadia.
I have spoken with younger fans and they point to a lack of atmosphere at some grounds and simply equate standing on terraces with the ability to generate noise, but because they have been used to the changes introduced two decades ago, they probably don’t appreciate that changes to the ‘atmosphere’ at modern grounds is probably as much to do with transformations to demographic and socio-economic factors as much as the physical landscape inside a contemporary stadium.
Since 96 lives were lost in 1989, stadium policing, emergency deployment plans, stewarding and crowd control have all been dramatically improved. That is not to say that supporters always appreciate some of the stewarding and policing deployed in order to safely manage large scale sports crowds following the Taylor report, but it has demonstrably worked.
Think of the changes and then remember that for 25 years we have not seen a major sporting disaster at a British football stadium.
The simple but extremely important fact that a disaster such as Hillsborough must never be allowed to happen again, provides the foundation for my strongly held belief that calling for a return to standing would, whether intentional or not, put the very real progress that has been made in jeopardy. This is not something that decision-makers should take lightly, nor do I believe that there is currently the evidence-base to substantiate such a policy reversal.
In reality, a minority are attempting to persuade the majority into believing standing areas would see a return to the halcyon days of football. I don’t.
There is a tabloid-generated belief in some sections of society that health and safety has gone mad in this country and that it is nearly always the impediment to the ordinary person’s enjoyment. It’s populism at its worst.
For me, I will never accept such a flawed view of health and safety and will always remember that it is because we have implemented measures such as the establishment of the sports ground advisory panels (which are now compulsory and under the jurisdiction of local authorities), that the post-match analysis in the pubs and clubs is more to do with what happened on the pitch, rather than what went on in the stands.
The thirst for a return to standing at football is, I believe, based more on a grassroots rebellion against corporate capitalism and the commercialisation of the beautiful game than a genuine disdain for health and safety and all-seater stadia.
There is an old saying that complacency is the enemy of safety. We should be ever vigilant to ensure that fans who go to watch matches in this country are afforded the best possible safety standards — and return home safely. Hillsborough is undoubtedly a lesson to all in authority that are charged with the wellbeing of the supporters, of the dangers of mismanaging crowd control.
Fundamentally, as we reflect on the fateful events of a quarter of a century ago, we should all take a long hard look at the gains made – and ponder whether it is really worth turning back the clock?
Quite impressive that an entire article can be based totally on nothing more than ramblings, and not subject to any empirical evidence. Europe has standing areas and it works perfectly fine. Its just overhead cost that punters pay for anyway.
Very poor article. As a football fan and a Health and Safety Manager, this generalistic view does nothing for the discussion. Obviously Mr Rotherham hasn’t done any research – (Bristol Rovers playing at Ashton Gate).Safe standing is proven as being a safe option after its successful implementation in Germany.
Adrian Plimmer
Health and Safety Manager
Vice Chairman – Shrewsbury Town Supporters
Great article, it is a minority who are pushing for a return to standing. The rail seating in Germany will never be as safe as seating and they still have fences around the perimeter!
I see no gain at all in going back to the 80’s
Seriously do you fact check anything anymore a dreadful error and about the installation of safe standing at Ashton Gate! A biast and badly written article that shows no mention of the european testing or rail seats. Not to mention the numerous fans surveys supporting it’s introduction in the UK and the number of club’s who have already shown their support.
Let’s hope we don’t have to be continually subjected to this kind of dross.
“Bristol Rovers have already introduced a rail seating system at its Ashton Gate ground and many other clubs are rumored to be interested in adopting this approach.”
Bristol Rovers play The Memorial Stadium
Bristol City play Aston Gate
I wouldn’t advise mixing them up again! Not if you value your Health or Safety!!
Here we go again lets get a reaction when the tragic event of those years ago happened. No one deserves to die at a football match however there were many things that happened that will come out over the course of the inquiry which contributed to this event. I have been going to football forty five years and have travelled around european grounds as well. In my opinion the german rail model is the way to go for the standing areas and yes they should be brought back Lord Justice recommended all seater stadiums and this has happened in the… Read more »
Hillsborough was a tragic event that should never happen again, but the changes implemented in the Taylor report were not completely relative to the issue. The cause was the lack of crowd control by the police which all football clubs addressed through improved turnstile systems and crowd management procedures. Seating was then added as it was seen as the easiest way of allocating an area per supporter. Whether someone enters the ground and stands or sits makes no difference. European grounds that use standing rail systems can still allocate on a space per person area the same as seating. A… Read more »
As a West Ham fan, my Dad was reluctant to take me to the East End in the eighties to watch his (and eventually) my team. Instead, I was taken to the nearer – and friendlier – Goldstone Ground, home of Brighton at the time. The stadium accommodated both standing and sitting fans and the atmosphere, to a young fan, experiencing his first ever game, was magical. If indeed the argument is about atmosphere, then in this modern day, I think it still remains special at many clubs, regardless of standing or seating arrangements. That said, being at Upton Park… Read more »
Great article. Peterborough have just knocked a terrace down. Long may it continue!
As someone who was at Hillsborough on the day and who has been a LFC Kop season ticket holder since 1977 I personally would love to stand on the terraces again and would certainly do so. Much of what is written is correct however the point that should be debated in my opinion and that of many others is that there can be, with control, planning, thought and such as rail barriers; safe and effective “Safe standing”. No one is asking for a 28,000 terrace swaying with people falling back and forth like the old Kop did. I recall after… Read more »
As a Health and Safety Inspector and a football fan, I’ve had many conversations with my colleagues in building control who work on large sports stadia safety, and we generally agree – large open terracing is something we should never go back to. However, allocated standing areas are a safe option to allocated seating. It would actually be a simple job of removing the seats and providing a rail system for demarcation. My local club plays in the English Championship, and I go to about half the home games, and I spend at least half of the match stood up… Read more »
Gary and Adrian, thanks for pointing out the error in the copy – will get that rectified.
Fenced enclosures to keep fans off the pitch were a disaster waiting to happen. No fences = low risk if there is seating or standing provided ticket admissions are controlled.
Given Steve Rotheram’s prominent and admirable role in the Hillsborough campaign, it is a shame to see this ill-informed article. To suggest that ‘safe standing’ i.e. rail seating is a ‘return to’ anything is nonsense. Rail seating is a new type of accommodation which bears no resemblance to old fashioned terraces. One part of the current debate is whether or not the government should allow a pilot ‘rail seating’ scheme at one of the Premier League or Championship clubs which have offered, e.g. Aston Villa. The other arm of the debate is whether clubs which get promoted should be required… Read more »