Celtic have revealed they are exploring the possibility of introducing safe-standing areas at Parkhead.
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has said “it’s time” to consider the venture after the old Scottish Premier League relaxed its rules on safe standing in 2011 and also given the success of the Bundesliga in introducing similar measures.
Despite the rule relaxation two years ago in Scotland, no club has followed through on trying out the likes of rail seats, which can be converted from standing to sitting areas for European games, but Celtic are now close to becoming the first.
“We think that some of the systems that are now deployed in Germany and other countries, it’s now time to give them a try,” he told the BBC.
“We feel there is a new vibrancy in football that has come from Europe and is now in the UK. It’s an energy and youthfulness and the safest way of being able to manage that is through safe standing,” he added.
The club has had its differences with a section of fans who stand during the games, known as the Green Brigade, and in August suspended plans to relocate these ticket holders over safety issues and ‘lateral movement’. The new plans Lawwell contends would help address this issue.
“We recognise that they bring an awful lot to the game, to the event here, but there are certain aspects of the behaviour that we would deem not safe. Therefore this would be the ultimate solution for that.”
Lawwell explained that the Glasgow City Council, police, ambulance, fire service and building control will have to be consulted and the club will also have to apply for a policy review.
Crucially Scotland is not bound by the legislation on all-seater stadia which came out of the Taylor Report, which looked at the reasons for the Hillsborough disaster that claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans in 1989.
