Expert reassures Sunderland fans over move to safe standing in the Stadium of Light

Ken Scott was previously in charge of development and building control at Sunderland City Council for many years. He now is head of inspectorate at the Sports Ground Safety Authority.

In 2020 he received an MBE for services to safety at sporting events. He is also a huge Sunderland supporter.

SAFC has confirmed that some safe standing will be available in the Stadium of Light in the 2024-25 season. Newcastle United announced this week that they are following suit.

Mr Scott says standing in areas designed for seating, which happens at many grounds, carries risk as highlighted by independent research, but that a realistic approach is needed.

All-seater stadiums were made compulsory following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

But any new standing will be radically different to the “bad old days”.

Among those backing the move and providing independent research are Professor Keith Still, an expert in crowd safety who has even worked on the Hajj.

Mr Scott told the Echo: “I’ve been pushing this issue about people standing in areas that aren’t designed standing for many years.

“The risk is from from progressive crowd collapse as a result of people standing in areas that aren’t designed for standing.

“All-seater sports grounds, if everyone is sitting down, are definitely the safest way to watch football. But we live in the real world and people want to stand. We tried for 20 years to get people to sit down, but it proved very difficult.

“A key moment was in 2019 when the Conservative manifesto contained a pledge that if it could be proven to them that standing in seated areas could be made safe, then they would consider a change in the law.”

Mr Scott authored guidance to assist in meeting those safety challenges, which sets out technical specifications that clubs needed to meet.

David Rose of the Football Supporters’ Association added: “The FSA fought for years so that fans can have a choice to stand at football.

“It’s for each club and their supporters to decide if designated standing areas are right for them and it's pleasing to see that SAFC and other clubs with all-seater stadia, are looking to introduce bespoke standing sections.”