The Premier League could stand again

UPDATE: the petition reached the 100K signatures milestone and it so will be discussed in Parliament. It won't necessarily be agreed but at least the matter is now on the table.

It’s been almost 30 years since the Hillsborough tragedy and since when the Taylor Report - the inquiry that followed the sadly famous FA Cup semifinal - ended once for all the possibility for all English fans to follow a football game while standing. From 1989, in fact, in all the English stadiums, especially in the Premier League and Championship, is forbidden to attend a football game in any way but sitting down, a thing that partially contributed to the “theatre” atmosphere of English football but also limited the participation of the fans.

Now, there’s a strong contingent the pushes for the reopening of the so-called “safe standing”, areas of the stadium where supporters can easily follow the game while standing, without any danger or bothering for the other supporters that prefer to seat. To push this movement has been Crystal Palace, that through its social profiles called a petition to bring the matter to Parliament. It’s been an immediate success, as the petition already gathered almost 90K signatures and once reached the 100K - and it’s only a matter of time - the Government will be forced to discuss it.

“Safe Standing offers a much safer alternative to fans who wish to stand, rather than sit at football matches. After the highly successful introduction to rail seating at Celtic Park, as well as numerous Bundesliga clubs, many football fans feel that laws preventing standing areas should be relaxed”. Crystal Palace moved the first steps towards a return to the past, and many seem ready to follow.