Could Terraces Return?

Many fans have been campaigning for years for the return of standing on terraces to top flight football. In practice away fans in particular often stand in seating areas despite the efforts of stewards and police and restrictions imposed on them the following year by local authorities. The campaign for the return of terraces has now been given a big boost by an Early Day Motion signed by over 100 MPs that calls on the Government to ‘re-examine the case for limited sections of safe standing areas.’ Because of the scale of the support sports minister Richard Caborn will now be obliged to meet with representatives of the campaigners that include former sports minister Kate Hoey. Sponsor of the motion, Portsmouth South MP and Pompey supporter Mike Hancock said that there had been no problem on terraces in lower leagues. The Bundesliga permits standing on terraces at top level matches, but Caborn says that German fans have a different ‘profile’ to English fans. Perhaps that is another way of saying that football fans are regarded as second class citizens whose views are to be disregarded. However, this campaign now has considerable momentum behind it with fans organised in support by the group Stand Up Sit Down.