Southampton city councillors are to discuss ‘safe standing’ at St Mary’s Stadium in what could prove crucial to the campaign to allow fans to stand in front of their seats during Southampton FC home matches.
The idea of having safe standing at the English Premier League soccer club’s ground will go before the city authority on May 16, having been raised by Redbridge Independent councillor Andrew Pope in September last year.
Pope hopes that fellow councillors will back his proposal. He said, “I want to see action not words from the council. The vast majority of clubs support safe standing. It will improve the atmosphere at the stadium and will stop the constant battle between stewards and fans.”
The councillor is calling on Southampton Football Club to back the initiative.
Clubs in England’s top two divisions have been legally required to have all-seater grounds since the 1990 publication of the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death. At present, more than 25 Premier League and Football League clubs in England and Wales have backed safe standing. Among those in favor are Manchester City, Aston Villa, Swansea City and Hull City.
The news that safe standing was to be discussed by the council came just days after Southampton Conservative Group revealed that it planned to push for a railway station to be built at St Mary’s Stadium.
April 18, 2018
