Manchester United scrap singing section plan at Old Trafford over fears of 'Poznan' celebration by City fans
Mike Keegan
July 09, 2012
Manchester United's plans to improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford have been scuppered by City’s ‘Poznan’ celebration, the M.E.N. can reveal.
The Reds wanted to move away fans at Old Trafford to the third tier of the Sir Alex Ferguson stand in a bid to improve ‘the number, range and quality of seats’ available to home fans and introduce a ‘singing section’.
They trialled the switch at a Premier League clash with Aston Villa in April. But, following a police report on the experiment, the move was scrapped.
The document, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, highlights a fear that away supporters, particularly those of City, will ‘move in a similar synchronised fashion’ therefore causing the stand to ‘flex’.
Written by Old Trafford commander Chief Supt Mark Roberts, it states that stand movement, while not necessarily dangerous, could cause panic among fans.
The last time City played at Old Trafford their fans performed the Poznan celebration – in which they turn their backs on the action and jump up and down when their team scores – six times.
Spread over 15 pages, the report also highlights a number of other potential issues.
Fears are raised that the persistent standing of away fans, coupled with the steep layout of the stand, could see some plunge over the front of the tier.
Concerns were also aired over the police’s ability to respond to trouble with back-up officers having to race up 16 flights of stairs to get to the area.
The report states that at the Villa game fans of both clubs, spat at each other as they climbed up parallel sets of stairs, and highlights that there is no netting in place on the stairways to prevent missiles being hurled.
It also discloses that a number of fans ejected from the section started to watch the match on TV sets in the foyer of the Red Cafe. And the move, which would see away fans relocate from the East Stand, could also increase the number of potential flashpoints outside the ground.
The switch was scrapped following meetings with the council-lead Safety Advisory Group.
However, United have not ruled out looking again at the idea. A spokesman said: “We are surprised the police have chosen to raise this issue. We have an ongoing dialogue with the council. They put the stadium through a rigorous approval process every year and this issue has never been an area of concern for them.
“Given that they have the appropriate expertise in this area, it seems strange that the police would raise it.”
) and, in my opinion at least, (I maye be wrong) will end up with a better seat. I could be wrong again but there are less ST holders up in T3 and a decent proportion is seat sales rather than ST I think (compared to other areas of the ground).
