UEFA urged to abolish 'outdated' ban on standing areas

Supporters' groups across Europe have pressured UEFA to lift ban on standing areas at Champions League and Europa League matches.

In an open letter to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, the fans highlighted the 'absurdity' of the ban on standing areas in European matches as many supporters stand regardless.

As it stands, world football's governing body FIFA bans standing fans from their competitions, as does the Premier League, but they are permitted in some others leagues, most notably Germany's Bundesliga.

The letter, which is a part of a campaign called "Europe wants to stand" indicated the standing ban was introduced in 1988 as a "quick solution" following several disasters in European stadia.

It also claims "long-term evaluations have concluded that the existence of standing sections was not the cause of these tragedies."

The letter argues 100,000 fans stand every week in Germany's Bundesliga proving "it is possible to provide standing sections without safety or security risks at football matches."

Similarly, in England's all-seater stadiums, it said "thousands of fans stand in areas not specifically designed for standing."

There has been a recent push for safe standing areas to be introduced in England and in a survey run by the EFL in 2018, 94 per cent of 33,000 respondents argued fans should be allowed to choose whether they sit or stand at matches.

This was preceded by Shrewsbury Town becoming the first EFL club to introduce rail-seating at Montgomery Waters Meadow Stadium for 555 safe-standing spaces for fans.

Scotland, France and the Netherlands had recently lifted strict standing bans and other countries are reportedly considering following suit.

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