Interstate 5 said:danburge82 said:What did us English do when Taylor brought out his utterly bullshit report?
All seated stadiums killed English football culture.
96 people had just died at a fucking football match, and you expected hundred of thousands of us to take to the streets and protest because the crumbling deathtraps we went to watch football in were told to become all-seater, and everyone had to have a ticket with a specific seat number on it?
Incidentally, if you read the Taylor Report it doesn't say standing is unsafe - the Govt decided that. Did you also disagree with the recommendations on crush barriers, fences and turnstiles?
How old were you in the 80's?
Taken from another forum.
Taking a stand: Aston Villa back plans to trial standing areas - but Hillsborough Family Support Group remain opposed
"We are absolutely against it and always will be. Our football clubs should remain all-seater stadiums," says HFSG spokesman Margaret Aspinall
Aston Villa have become the first Premier League club to support the campaign for standing areas to return to top flight football grounds.
The campaign has been launched by the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) and with Birmingham MP Roger Godsiff. Aston Villa and Peterborough have both given their support to calls for the Government to allow "small-scale trials of safe standing areas" and have volunteered to host a trial.
Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner said: "We have had a number of good discussions and meetings with the FSF over the past 12 months and fully support their campaign to allow small-scale trials of safe standing areas at grounds.
"Whenever we have discussed the topic with our fans we've found almost unanimous support for such a trial, and the concept of giving fans the choice to decide to either sit or stand at a game.
"We believe Villa Park could be a potential venue for such a trial, and would like the opportunity to progress the plans further with the wider support of the football community in this country."
Godsiff has also submitted an early day motion to Parliament which "urges the Government to accept the case for introducing, on a trial basis, limited standing areas".
The trials would need a change in the Football Spectators Act 1989, brought in after the Hillsborough disaster.
Peter Daykin, Safe Standing Coordinator at the FSF, said: "For two decades since the Taylor Report, the overwhelming majority of football supporters have favoured a choice of standing and sitting at football, and fans continue to stand throughout all levels of the game today, even in the Premier League and Championship where it is against ground regulations and facilities are designed for sitting.
"Standing was outlawed on grounds of safety, and yet successive governments have agreed that standing is safe - it's hard not to when it is done perfectly safely every week at rugby grounds, lower league football grounds and in top football leagues all around the world."
Last year the Hillsborough Family Support Group opposed any move to bring back standing areas.
HFSG spokesman Margaret Aspinall said then: "The Hillsborough Family Support Group are totally against any form of standing whatsoever. We are absolutely against it and always will be. Our football clubs should remain all-seater stadiums.
"People always say they have standing areas in Germany, but we don't play any part over what happens in that country - we just believe there's no such thing as safe standing in this country. We will not be encouraging the government to change the law."
The Premier League and successive governments have until now also opposed any change.
The Premier League will not support the campaign and argued that all-seater grounds had had significant benefits.
A PL spokesman said: "Since the introduction of all-seater stadia the supporter experience has improved significantly and we have seen more diverse crowds attending Premier League matches including more women and children.
"The police, safety officers and licensing authorities remain clear on this issue and have consistently informed us that crowd management has improved as a result of all-seater stadia being in place in the top two divisions in this country.
"We will not be encouraging the Government to change the law."
Great news about Villa's positive response to talks with FSF. Let's hope that more clubs follow suit.
As to the HFSG, I have great respect for the way that the families have fought a long, patient and determined battle to uncover the truth and to seek justice. I wish them all the best in that regard. But that doesn't give them the right to dictate to the rest of us how we should watch football today.
This is not 1989. Football stadia have changed dramatically. Stewarding has changed dramatically. Policing has changed dramatically. Fans' habits and behaviour have changed dramatically. Standing areas in football stadiums are now as safe as, if not even safer than, seating areas.
So HFSG should butt out and stop interfering, where they have no right, in other people's lives. They are not experts on stadium safety. They are just normal people who, tragically, lost loved ones in a stadium disaster 23 years ago.
Absolutely spot on.(underlined)