Football Supporters Federation (FSF) Case worker, Amanda Jacks will meet with the London Stadium Safety Advisory Board (LS-SAG) together with Westfield Shopping Centre and the London Stadium Safety Officer next week to discuss crowd safety and is asking West Ham supporter feedback and suggestions/solutions for resolving the current issues experienced in the London Stadium in the opening games.
Amanda told us: “In the short term at least, there won’t be a better opportunity for supporter voices to be heard by ‘key stakeholders’. Rest assured I will do my very best to represent supporter interests and do what I can to ensure that they are taken seriously. If nothing else, I want to leave that meeting assured that the causes of all the issues are being properly addressed and that supporter safety is paramount”
Please share your feedback in the comments section below or contact Amanda in confidence directly via email at amanda.jacks@fsf.org.ukAmanda recently blogged for the FSF about a meeting she had with the Met Police over the incidents preceding the last match at the Boleyn Ground http://www.fsf.org.uk/blog/view/green-street-congestion-upton-park-farewell-police-report
Identify and apply a section of the ground for “singers,come wannabe standers”perhaps along with that the promise of a safe standing trial next year if all goes well.Away fans properly segregated with netting,preferably on a single tier not spread over upper and lower tiers.Stewards who understand the club even in a small way would help,to make people sit through our anthem ” Bubbles ” is extreme to put it mildly, who are these people?Millwall fans,spurs fans who knows.Lastly the sight of police presence would deter instead of inflame trouble.We should have also appointed a family section, disabled section, but this should have been done before the move.But bad stewardship has caused a lot of animosity now.COYI
1. Review current ST holder allocation and offer refunds to those who are unhappy, rescind the +2.
2. Segregating away support with a physical not human barrier.
3. Apply for safe standing at both ends of Stadium including away support who stand for the entire game so have no real need for a fixed seat and move all those that want to stand into those areas, in the absence of that solution designate safe standing and a family area within the stands. The safety aspect of safe standing could be vital in preventing trampling especially in the event of a large breach of the human barrier between home and away support.
4. Have a specific stewarding team purely for football, that are made up predominantly of West Ham supporters, these stewards can relate to our support and in some instances that alone will be sufficient to control outbreaks.
5. Have a football related Police and Paramedic presence in a control box somewhere within the stadium that can react to football violence and quickly respond to violent incidents or incidents that can escalate quickly.
I am sure there are lots of us with a number more of suggestions but these are mine 🙂