To find out more about the FSF's Safe Standing campaign email Amanda Jacks.
The Safe Standing campaign has continued to gather momentum throughout a season which has seen plenty of work go on behind the scenes. With the current campaign draws to a close, this seems the perfect opportunity to bring FSF members bang up to date with developments.
In late 2007, the FSF had a meeting with the Better Regulation Commission (BRC). The BRC was set up to monitor application of government regulations, and establish whether the cost of actually implementing the regulation was in proportion to the risk that was presented. We were very encouraged by the meeting and the BRC agreed to look into our case, which is based on the line that the all seated rule was brought in on safety issues only.
The government have finally admitted that standing at football matches is not intrinsically unsafe, but have shifted the goalposts to include public order and customer care issues to prevent fans from standing up. In January 2008, BRC was replaced with the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council (RRAC) and. The new body is still keen to support our case, but as with movements in government circles, these things take time.
In April, the Independent Football Commission (IFC) produced their final annual report, which included a lengthy chapter on the issue of Safe Standing and referred, in favourable terms, to the FSF's own report on the issue, which it described as “truly excellent report'. The IFC called for the practice of reducing capacities for away fans who persistently stand to cease and whilst it did not support the Stand Up Sit Down (SUSD) campaign for standing in seated areas, it did state that: 'It is difficult to find any sort of evidence which indicates that allowing people to stand in a seating area is inherently unsafe'. And the report’s final recommendation was pleasing to read:
“The IFC recommends that something is done to resolve this ludicrous situation where clubs are obliged to enforce a seating rule but plainly either cannot, or refuse to bother. This is leaving clubs, stewards, local authorities, etc in a situation where no-one seems to know what to do. Rather than running scared from what many perceive as a massive safety issue, the football authorities at least need to give their clubs some help in resolving what is fast becoming the major customer care issue at grounds.
In conjunction with Government, the football authorities should consider whether allowing clubs to permit some standing areas might have some beneficial effects. It could also prevent those fans who want to sit, ending up in the wrong section of the stadium where persistent standing takes place. Stewards could be sensibly deployed elsewhere; it is likely that fewer police would be needed; the Customer Relations Department at the ground could get fewer fans complaining and, finally, with the removal of one source of potential aggravation, it is likely that health and safety figures might improve.
To do nothing is no longer an option.”
Sadly, the IFC have no specific power to force recommendations to be undertaken, but the argument put forward by the IFC, in our favour, is a strong one, which adds weight to our campaign and increases the pressure on the Football Licensing Authority (FLA), and other agencies, to discuss the issue in an open and honest manner.
Whilst on the subject of the FLA, members of the SUSD campaign have successfully exposed a few errors in facts and figures offered in their reports. Figures have subsequently been pulled from the FLA's website. SUSD has since requested that the FLA cease to use any statistics relating to that season unless it has empirical evidence with which to back its figures up. SUSD has also formally written to the government informing them that one of their funded departments has grossly mismanaged such critical information.
Following on from last years Early Day Motion (EDM) in Parliament, which attracted 150 MP's signatures, in January, the same EDM was proposed again, this time by Mike Hancock MP. To date, some 96 MP's have signed up, please write to your MP and ask him / her to sign EDM 71. You can check online if your MP has signed up, by accessing EDM 71.
One of the pleasing aspects of the season has been the emergence of fans taking the issue of standing to their clubs and campaigning in favour of it. Wycombe Wanderers hosted a Safe Standing day), while Liverpool and Bradford City fans have been pro-active in working with their club officials on the issue. And it is in this area that I hope the campaign will grow during the coming season.
We need local activists at each club to form a campaign group - the FSF we can provide materials (banners, leaflets, publicity, etc) to help get groups up and running. An effective campaign, using local media to put pressure on both the local authorities and clubs themselves to support the campaign is the way forward now.
To quote the IFC's report; “To do nothing is no longer an option.” And that goes for us as fans, as well as those running the game.
Click here to view the FSF's Safe Standing Report
