A FOOTBALL war is looming.
The announcement yesterday by the Scottish Premier League that their clubs could investigate the feasibility of introducing safe standing areas within their stadia seems certain to spark division between the idealists and the pragmatists.
The idealists are largely fans and those who represent them. There has been a growing movement in recent years for supporters to be allowed to stand at top-flight matches as they do at games in the Bundesliga. Supporters look to Germany and see an explosion of noise and colour, where fans can enjoy the matchday experience without interference from stewards. That a standing ticket is often available at the fraction of the cost only adds to the attraction.
Stadia in the SPL have been all-seater since the 1990s as a result of the Taylor Report recommendations that followed the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Their introduction has improved safety and made grounds more welcoming to women and children, but the removal of terraces has done little for the atmosphere with some games played out to a backdrop of near silence.
The formation in recent times of boisterous fans' splinter groups, based on the European Ultras model, has helped resurrect the concept that a football ground should be a place where like-minded souls can congregate to worship their team through song, dance and written word. Their growing popularity has furthered the case for safe-standing areas to be introduced where they can gather and bounce around without bothering those who would rather sit and watch the game in relative peace.
The SPL have now acknowledged this former group, giving clubs the chance to pilot schemes to see if there are enough people willing to sacrifice a seat for the chance to stay on their feet. "Since I joined the SPL in 2009, there has been widespread support among fans to reintroduce safe-standing areas," said Neil Doncaster, SPL chief executive. "I'm delighted we have been able to respond positively to supporters' views on improving the match-day experience."
News of the development quickly travelled south where those keen on introducing standing areas at grounds in England listened enviously. Their number includes Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat MP and his party's sport spokesman, who earlier this year introduced a Safe Standing Bill at the Westminster Parliament.
"The SPL is right to take an objective view of safe standing in Scottish football," Foster told Herald Sport. "There is evidence from across the world that standing can be completely safe. Safe standing is preferable to the status quo, where fans frequently stand in sections designed for sitting.
"Scotland is adding itself to a long list of countries where decisions on stadium design are taken on the basis of evidence. Government and football authorities south of the border should watch these pilots closely and think carefully about their own policies."
Others were similarly heartened by yesterday's development. Jon Darch, a member of the Football Supporters Federation, has taken his Safe Standing Roadshow all across the country, promoting the introduction of German-style safe-standing areas at football grounds in England's top two divisions.
Darch's preference is for the introduction of hi-rail seats, widely prevalent in Germany, which will be folded up for domestic games to form barriers for fans to lean on, but which could provide additional seating for European matches where standing remains forbidden. "The desire to stand has never gone away," Darch said. "There were many good things that Lord Taylor wrote in his report but one thing he got wrong was that, over time, fans would get used to sitting down. In recent years, I would say the desire to stand at matches has actually increased. Generally, those fans who like to stand tend to make the most noise and they act as a catalyst to get the more sedentary fans going.
"That in turn creates a better atmosphere in the stadium as a whole and gives the team more support. Even the corporate fans paying their £100 for a nice meal and a comfy seat get a better experience as they get to enjoy the passionate fans creating a better atmosphere."
Darch makes a compelling case and the pro-standing lobby will likely be demanding clubs start tearing out seats almost immediately to allow their dream of standing again to become a reality. Those who would oversee such a drastic overhaul, however, question the viability in certain cases.
St Mirren have the most modern ground in the SPL, opened in January 2009, and converting even a section of a stadium built entirely with seating in mind would be a costly and complicated business. Standing areas would likely also require greater stewarding and policing, while there would be other administrative and logistical concerns.
"I'm not sure how this would work at a new stadium that was built for seating and not for standing," Brian Caldwell, general manager of St Mirren, told Herald Sport. "The height of our terracing is designed for seating so we would need to re-do all of that and change all the terrace units otherwise it wouldn't be safe. We have also reduced our police bills dramatically since moving to the new stadium but those would increase if we were to have standing areas again."
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