Chelsea confirm safe-standing trial will begin with Premier League game against Liverpool on January 2 as 28-year ban comes to an end… with Tottenham, Man United and Man City also involved in initial pilot scheme
- Chelsea will be the first Premier League club to introduce safe standing
- The Blues’ game against Liverpool on January 2 will begin the pilot scheme
- Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Cardiff are also involved
- It brings to an end the blanket ban on standing in top two tiers since 1994
Chelsea will become the first Premier League club to trial safe standing, starting with their home game against Liverpool on January 2.
The west London club confirmed the news on Tuesday morning, announcing that their new rail-seating will be in full operation in their first game of 2022.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Cardiff are all taking part in the pilot scheme, with the Blues being the first to begin.
Chelsea will be the first club to pilot safe standing, with Liverpool game on January 2 first up
Chelsea installed a safe standing section at their Stamford Bridge ground in west London
In a statement, the club revealed: ‘For the Liverpool game and subsequent trial games, all supporters with tickets in the safe standing areas are allocated a seat as usual but now have the option of standing during the game at their allocated seat.’
The decision marks a huge change in English football. Stadiums in the top two divisions have had to be all-seater since laws were introduced in 1989 in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster.
The safe standing trial will end a blanket ban on standing in the top two divisions of English football brought in in 1994.
At Stamford Bridge, the areas for safe standing are in the Matthew Harding Stand lower tier and the Shed End upper and lower tiers.
The rail seating was introduced over the summer but has not been in full operational use so far this season.
In their statement, Chelsea continued: ‘The introduction of licensed standing areas is based on evidence of a safety risk for fans who persistently stand in seated areas. In addition, many fans want the choice to stand and, with the advent of new engineering solutions, the SGSA’s research has shown this can be managed safely.
‘The early adopters will be evaluated through independent research and the findings, anticipated in the second half of the season, will inform subsequent SGSA advice to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) about the potential wider roll out of licensed standing from the start of next season. It should be noted that standing in any other areas of the stadium is not permitted.’
Tottenham built their entire £1billion stadium with a large rail seating section for safe standing
Manchester City are another top-flight side who installed rail seating for the current season