Fundamentally, I feel this is an issue of civil rights. Any government
that decided standing on solid ground is 'dangerous'
in any other context than at a football match would be laughed at. We
should be informed of the risks and allowed to make our own decisions.
When it comes down to it, the disasters at Hillsbrough and Ibrox were
caused by people entering and leaving the stadium in a uncontrolled
fashion. Bradford showed that seats are no guarantee of safety in an
emergency. In fact I would feel safer leaving a terrace in a hurry than
the middle of a bunch of seats.
The real reasons we're not allowed to stand are :
- ignorance of the national press to the issues
- financial - charge more for seats
- control - keep the nasty hooligans under control by glueing them to a seat
- political - kneejerk reaction to Hillsbrough
Remember, Lord Taylor made hundreds of recommendations to improve safety and
football in general in addition to all seater stadiums, but only the
seating was ever focused upon.
We must keep up the fight for the right to stand.
Chris
The views expressed on this page are the views of the individual contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IMUSA.