English football club install safe-standing area

16 May, 2018

English League One side Shrewsbury have begun work to install safe-standing rail seats at their ground, nearly 30 years after the Hillsborough disaster left scores of Liverpool fans dead. Clubs in England's top two divisions have been legally required to have all-seater grounds since the measure was recommended by a report into the 1989 tragedy, which saw 96 Liverpool supporters killed in crushes caused by over-crowding in a standing area at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.
Third-tier Shrewsbury will become the first club in England and Wales to provide safe standing, with 555 rail seats being installed. Scottish Premiership side Celtic already have a safe-standing area.
Widely used in Germany, rail seats are flipped up and locked in place when fans are using standing areas and there is a safety barrier that separates each row to prevent surges.

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