Should top-level English football bring back standing?

Yes, Malcolm Clarke, Chair of the Football Supporters' Federation The issue in English football is not whether there should be standing in the top two leagues but how we manage it, as there is already an extensive and increasing amount of standing at games. In Liverpool's recent matches against Manchester United and Braga almost the whole of the Kop stood. It is commonplace, particularly among away supporters, for large numbers to stand throughout the game. Since the Taylor report there have been great advances in technology, particularly in Europe, which enable systems to be used that can be employed in either safe standing or seating mode. These would also be suitable for clubs in our top leagues who might play in Europe. There is already a strong regulatory framework that defines what constitutes a safe standing area, called the Green Guide, which is applied in Leagues One and Two. The current law is illogical because it basically states that whether a standing area is safe or not is determined by the quality of the football played on the pitch. Either that or the safety of fans in the lower leagues is less important. This is a nonsense. Of course, absolute safety can never be guaranteed in any walk of life. The only 100% safe motorcar is one that never leaves the garage; the only 100% guaranteed safe football ground is an empty one. It's about taking reasonable measures to mitigate against risk and we believe that the Green Guide does this. Why do I believe safe standing at games should be allowed? Simply, because fans feel they've lost something: it is easier to sing when you're standing up. Lord Taylor said an appropriate price for watching a top-flight game sitting down should be £6. If you factor in inflation this would probably be £14 or £15, yet prices in the Premier League have gone way above that. You can accommodate more people in a safe standing area – this would enable clubs to reduce ticket prices, while increasing attendance and their match-day income. It's a win for everybody. Eventually reality must intrude. Fans are standing now in seated areas. There is a widespread demand from the customers for safe standing areas, from both those who want to stand and those who want to sit. We estimate that about 15% of the ground being safe standing would suffice in most cases. The challenge for us is to produce the evidence to persuade politicians and football clubs that this is a sensible way to go. Hopefully, within five years we will achieve this. The first thing is to get the law changed and then we can discuss it with the football clubs and the football authorities. No, Andy Holt, Assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire police All the football authorities, including the Football Association and the Premier League, are against standing. Their view is that the culture inside our football stadiums has changed in the last 20 years [since the Taylor report] and that it is a more welcoming place for families and young people [than] before standing was abolished. I agree with that. The atmosphere is better than was previously the case 20 years ago. Of course there is still some violence associated with football, but this has moved from the grounds to surrounding areas and transport interchanges. We have made great progress regarding crowd control and crowd safety inside stadiums in this country. There are a number of reasons for this, such as better stewarding and policing, CCTV etc. However, if we were to change any element of that I would need to be convinced that the changes would not lead to a reverse of this progress. I would want to be assured that any form of standing would not make it more difficult to steward crowds, identify someone causing trouble etc. The Football Supporters' Federation is keen to introduce standing but it has not been able to give me any detail on how it would look like or how it would work and, at the moment, I don't think I can support the idea of reintroducing standing. The message I have heard from all partners in football is that they weren't the least interested in reintroducing terracing. Would there be an issue about costs? You would have to ask the clubs but they would be likely to say that it would cost them a lot to go back to terracing. The FSF says it would not be mandatory but the Premier League would want to have something to say about what the policy should be in its competition. If anyone put a proposal forward I would be able to say: "In my view it would have this effect on policing and stewarding." But before there is a proposal I can't do that. And given that we have something that in the main works with regards to crowd safety and crowd control at the moment and still making progress I would be very nervous to make changes. There are always improvements to be made in regards to these issues and we don't get it right in every incident, but the trend is certainly one of improvement. • Vote now in our poll