LONDON: A possible introduction of safe-standing section in the Premier League and Championship will be discussed in British Parliament on June 25. The decision follows a successful petition, signed by over 110,000 people, to the British government. All-seater stadiums became mandatory in England’s top two divisions following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 96 Liverpool fans were killed in a crush at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. West Bromwich Albion had offered to run a pilot scheme at the Hawthorns that would have meant 3,600 seats in the Smethwick End were converted into ‘rail-seats’, but their application was rejected by the government last month.
Published in Daily Times, May 3rd 2018.