The debate to introduce safe standing in Championship and Premier League stadiums like the Riverside has been set.
Parliament will discuss the issue on 25 June, the BBC have reported.
That state of affairs has come about because an online petition set up to force a debate on the issue reached its target of 100,000 signatures.
After the petition reached the 100,000 mark, the FSF said in a statement: "We would like to thank every last fan who signed the petition and helped take standing to Parliament - the sheer number of fans involved shows the strength of feeling on an issue that isn't going away."
There's a growing momentum behind a change to the current ruling that bans standing at Premier League and Championship football stadiums.
Wolves last week volunteered to take part in a pilot scheme for safe standing and Derby County recently backed proposals to introduce sections in stadiums dedicated to standing.
Due to the terms of their safety certificates, clubs in the top two divisions are currently not able to offer safe standing areas.
However, there’s an increasing demand within the game from the EFL, clubs and fans for the Government to reconsider the ban on standing with the kind of real-seating introduced by Celtic in 2016 being suggested as a solution to the problem.
West Brom applied to install 3,600 ‘rail seats’ at the Hawthorns ahead of the 2018/19 season but that was rejected by sports minister Tracey Crouch.
Now Wolves managing director Laurie Dalrymple confirmed the Championship title winners’ interest in their stadium Molineux being utilised for any potential safe-standing pilot scheme in England.
“As a club, we would certainly welcome the opportunity to be part of any safe-standing pilot-scheme given the green light by the government, football’s governing bodies and the Sports Ground Safety Authority,” he old the club’s website.
“The chairman (Jeff Shi) and I have been open in interviews, and in meetings with supporters, about plans to develop and expand Molineux in the coming years, and it would be remiss of us to not explore the possibility of rail-seating being part of those plans.”
“We have all been watching the trial at Celtic with great interest, and the feedback there seems to be overwhelmingly positive in terms of atmosphere, safety and security.
“Whilst West Brom’s recent proposal may have been rejected by the DCMS (department for digital, culture, media and sport), it is clear momentum is gathering in favour of those who want to see a safe-standing solution at least trialled in English football’s top tiers, and we would very much like to be a part of that when it happens.”
Wolves' Midlands rivals Aston Villa have tweeted: “We are fully supporting the campaign to allow clubs in the Premier League and Championship to introduce safe standing. We will also be consulting our supporters on this matter in due course.”
Middlesbrough’s position on the issue is understood to be neutral.
However, the Middlesbrough Supporters Forum insists there is overwhelming support from fans for a modern designated standing area of the kind common in Europe at the Riverside.
After rejecting West Brom’s application to install ‘rail seats’ at the Hawthorns, sports minister Tracey Crouch told the Press Association Sport she was “not convinced” of the arguments for repealing the all-seater rule, believing only a “vocal minority” want to stand and clubs should use existing legislation to force fans who persistently stand to sit down.
That response didn’t go down well with pro-standing supporters including the EFL (English Football League), the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) and West Brom’s safety officer.
EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “I can assure you that we do not consider the comments made this week to be the last word on the matter. We will continue to engage robustly with government and other relevant stakeholders in order to achieve the changes to the all-seater policy that our clubs seek.”
Football Supporters’ Federation spokesman Peter Daykin added: “Tracey Crouch is not offering a solution.
“Forcing fans to sit down at all-seater stadiums doesn’t work, so by turning a blind eye to safe standing, she is basically telling them to solve the issue.”
Standing at UK sporting venues is not illegal. In fact the other major spectator sports, including racing, rugby union and rugby league, permit standing.
In Scotland, Celtic successfully introduced ‘rail seating’ that can accommodate 2,600 standing fans and can, when required, be converted to seating for international and European fixtures.
Most major stadiums in England now feature fans standing in seated areas for long periods of matches, leading to potential safety issues.
