http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/08/08/liverpool-fc-cut-man-utd-s-away-allocation-for-next-season-s-anfield-fixture-due-to-persistent-standing-100252-29199140/2/
Liverpool FC cut Man Utd's away allocation for next season's Anfield fixture due to persistent standing
LIVERPOOL FC will strip Manchester United fans of one-third of their tickets for Anfield matchdays after persistent problems with away supporters standing during their clashes.
United’s total share of tickets will be slashed from 3,015 to 1,965, with spare seats being given to home supporters.
The decision to close one section of the Anfield Road stand was taken by Liverpool council’s licensing committee today after an application by the Reds.
The club said Manchester United fans constantly stand in the gangways running from the back of the stand to the touchline, raising potentially serious safety issues.
Standing has been banned at football matches since the Taylor Report into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Reds fans.
Liverpool FC stadium manager Ged Poynton told the meeting the problem was particularly bad with United fans, but also showed photographs of Newcastle United fans at the ground.
They did not appear to be blocking the gangways in the same way as Manchester United fans.
While representatives of the away team’s fans said they appreciated the health and safety concerns, they said banning supporters for whom standing “is ingrained in their culture” was not the answer.
They added that giving the tickets over to Liverpool FC fans rather than keeping the seats empty could lead to further antagonism between the two sets of supporters, whose rivalry is already one of the most bitter in the football leagues.
Supporters’ representatives from the Old Trafford club saw their alternative solution to close the back three rows, from where the view is obscured, rejected by the club.
Dr Jeff Pearson, from the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), which has more than 170,000 members, said: “The proposed solution may alleviate some of the symptoms of the problem because you have fewer fans to manage.
“But I do not think it will solve the problem in the medium or long term.
“The primary problem for United fans is the back three rows.”
He added: “Some fans will still stand.
“We cannot get United fans to sit down, that is beyond us, it is ingrained in our culture.”
Liverpool FC cut Man Utd's away allocation for next season's Anfield fixture due to persistent standing
LIVERPOOL FC will strip Manchester United fans of one-third of their tickets for Anfield matchdays after persistent problems with away supporters standing during their clashes.
United’s total share of tickets will be slashed from 3,015 to 1,965, with spare seats being given to home supporters.
The decision to close one section of the Anfield Road stand was taken by Liverpool council’s licensing committee today after an application by the Reds.
The club said Manchester United fans constantly stand in the gangways running from the back of the stand to the touchline, raising potentially serious safety issues.
Standing has been banned at football matches since the Taylor Report into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Reds fans.
Liverpool FC stadium manager Ged Poynton told the meeting the problem was particularly bad with United fans, but also showed photographs of Newcastle United fans at the ground.
They did not appear to be blocking the gangways in the same way as Manchester United fans.
While representatives of the away team’s fans said they appreciated the health and safety concerns, they said banning supporters for whom standing “is ingrained in their culture” was not the answer.
They added that giving the tickets over to Liverpool FC fans rather than keeping the seats empty could lead to further antagonism between the two sets of supporters, whose rivalry is already one of the most bitter in the football leagues.
Supporters’ representatives from the Old Trafford club saw their alternative solution to close the back three rows, from where the view is obscured, rejected by the club.
Dr Jeff Pearson, from the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST), which has more than 170,000 members, said: “The proposed solution may alleviate some of the symptoms of the problem because you have fewer fans to manage.
“But I do not think it will solve the problem in the medium or long term.
“The primary problem for United fans is the back three rows.”
He added: “Some fans will still stand.
“We cannot get United fans to sit down, that is beyond us, it is ingrained in our culture.”
