Sunday, 8 November 2026
Kenyan Digest

United to trial safe standing at Old Trafford

8 min read
Published

  • Manchester United given permission to trial safe standing at Old Trafford. Photo/TEAMTALKMEDIA

LONDON, United Kingdom, Apr 29 – Safe standing is coming to Old Trafford after Manchester United’s plans to trial barrier seating were approved by the local council.

All-seater stadiums have been mandatory in the top two tiers of English football since 1994-95, following recommendations on stadium safety made in the Taylor Report following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

But there has been a renewed push in recent years for safe standing to be brought into the top levels of English football, with United set to follow fellow Premier League clubs Tottenham and Wolves in installing rail seating.

Following changes to the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) Green Guide, the Old Trafford club made a formal proposal to the local Safety Advisory Group in December to request a trial.

Trafford Council has now approved plans for 1,500 seats in J-Stand, with United intending to have barrier seating in place for next season – and would look at potentially installing it in other areas of Old Trafford if successful.

Managing director Richard Arnold said: “It should be stated, up front, that our overwhelming priority is to keep our people safe from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It may seem strange to talk about stadium plans at this time, but football and our fans will return when it is safe, and our preparations for that must continue in the background.

“This announcement is the latest step in what has been a long journey with our fans.

“We have listened to their feedback, in particular, the representations made by MUST, and worked with Trafford Council to develop and approve this proposal.

“Our belief is that the introduction of barrier seats will enhance spectator safety in areas of the stadium where – as with other clubs – we have seen examples of persistent standing.

“It also allows us to future-proof the stadium in the event of any changes to the current all-seater stadium policy.

“If the trial is successful, we may consider further implementation of barrier seating in other parts of the stadium.

“We will now move on to develop the installation, compliance and licensing plan for the trial, with a view to having the new seats installed for when we can welcome our supporters back to Old Trafford.”

(Visited 5 times, 5 visits today)

%thecontent%%avatar%

%author%

    %authornetworks%
%authordescription%
    %authornetworks%

Comments

%sidebar%","opedarticle":"","sidead1":"ff","sidead2":"","sidead3":"","homestory":"

%title%

%game%%date%Read More--","taxonomyitem":"

%title%

%game%%date%Read More------","fixtureitem":"%name1%%score1%VS%score2%%name2%%time%","home":"rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn 1rn 2rn 3rn 4rn 5rn rn rn rn

United to trial safe standing at Old Trafford

rn rn Footballrn rn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn Read Articlern rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnrnrn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

More Headlines

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn ‘How many have to die?’: Neville voices fears over Premier League plansrn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Postponing Games will cost IOC ‘hundred million dollars’, says Bachrn

rn rn Gamern rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn ‘It is very important to organise the Hungarian Grand Prix’rn

rn rn Motorsrn rn rn rn 1 hour ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Derby thank Rooney after agreeing wage deferralrn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 1 hour ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn Baby steps, boom times and Tiger: pro golf in China marks 25 yearsrn

rn rn Golfrn rn rn rn 2 hours ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

rn EPL could be scrapped as Ligue 1 is effectively cancelledrn

rn rn Footballrn rn rn rn 22 hours ago rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnrn rn rn

Most Popular

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

All Sports

rn trn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

‘How many have to die?’: Neville voices fears over Premier League plans

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Postponing Games will cost IOC ‘hundred million dollars’, says Bach

rn rn rn Gamern rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

‘It is very important to organise the Hungarian Grand Prix’

rn rn rn Motorsrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Derby thank Rooney after agreeing wage deferral

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Baby steps, boom times and Tiger: pro golf in China marks 25 years

rn rn rn Golfrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Poll Question

rn rn ntnttnttntt

WILL ARSENAL FINISH TOP FOUR IN 2019/20 EPL SEASON?

    ntt
  • NO
  • ntt
  • YES
  • ntt

View Results

ntnnLoading ... Loading ...n rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

EPL could be scrapped as Ligue 1 is effectively cancelled

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Tuesday, 28th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Bundesliga could resume in ‘mid to late May’, say sports ministers

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Tuesday, 28th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ gathers pace

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Tuesday, 28th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Tottenham return to training

rn rn rn Footballrn rn Tuesday, 28th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rnrn rn rn rn rn rn

Olympics will be cancelled if pandemic not over: Games chief

rn rn rn Athleticsrn rn Tuesday, 28th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn Read Morern rn rn rn rn rn --rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn Load More Storiesrn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Sponsored

rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn

Featured

rn rn rn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn United to trial safe standing at Old Traffordrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn ‘How many have to die?’: Neville voices fears over Premier League plansrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn Postponing Games will cost IOC ‘hundred million dollars’, says Bachrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn ‘It is very important to organise the Hungarian Grand Prix’rn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn EPL clubs advised to recall players and staffrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnttt","sidebar":"rn rn rn rn rn rn rn rnrnrnrn rn rn rntrn rn t

Most Popular

rn rn rn rn rn trn rn rnrn rn rn rn t

Featured

rn rn trn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn United to trial safe standing at Old Traffordrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn ‘How many have to die?’: Neville voices fears over Premier League plansrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn rn rn AGENCE FRANCE PRESSErn Postponing Games will cost IOC ‘hundred million dollars’, says Bachrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn ‘It is very important to organise the Hungarian Grand Prix’rn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rnrn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn rn rn TEAMtalk Mediarn EPL clubs advised to recall players and staffrn rn rn Viewrn rn Wednesday, 29th Apr 2020rn rn rn rn rn rn rn trn rn rn rn","articleerror":"

Oops...Something broke on our end

"},"messages":{"accessdenied":"Access to the account has been denied ","httperror":"Oops, something went wrong...please try again","contactgoogle":"Contacting Google","firsttime":"Seems this is your first time with this signin system. Please wait as we get your name","signinsuccess":"Cool. You're now signed in. This signin will close automatically now","pendingrequest":"Still communicating with the server","signedout":"Seems you were signed out. Try submitting again after you've been signed in","trackingerror":"Couldn't track Analytics","xhrnotconfigured":"To webmaster: Please confirm the xhr/ajax receptor is configured on the server","loadmore":"Load more stories"}}; /* ]]> */