Man City hailed for ‘taking risk’ after ‘brilliant’ confirmed news by Government – pundit
Noel Whelan has praised Man City and other trailblazing clubs for their work in permanently reintroducing standing in English football.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the changes would benefit safety and atmospheres at games across the country.
As detailed by The Athletic (5 July), the UK government has allowed clubs in the top two tiers of English football to offer limited safe standing following a successful pilot held by Man City, Cardiff, Man United, Tottenham, and Chelsea during the 2021-22 season.
Brentford, QPR, and Wolves have already started the process of offering safe standing areas to their supporters, while Wembley Stadium will also install rail seating in a limited area.
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston said he was “very pleased” to expand the safe standing program in order to give “well-behaved” fans the choice of how they want to enjoy the game.
Whelan insisted “football has changed” since all-seater stadia were made mandatory following the Taylor report.
“It was a risk from the likes of Man City and the other clubs, but it’s a risk that the fans wanted and were pushing for,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“A lot has changed since the Hillsborough disaster, and I think football has changed.
“There’s a really increased sense of due care being taken by fans, and you can see that for the most part. There’s very little misbehaviour.
“It’s brilliant to have standing back in the game.
“Even with all-seater stadia these days, many fans choose to stand – so this just provides that safer option and it will enhance the atmosphere even more.”
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