CITY TO PUT IN 5,000 RAIL SEATS FOR SAFE STANDING

MANCHESTER CITY will install more than 5,000 rail seats at the Etihad Stadium this summer as they gear up for the introduction of safe standing. The Premier League leaders have committed to the work in preparation for a potential change in legislation. City will undertake the construction ahead of next season, refitting the bottom tier of their South Stand. Tottenham and Wolves have already kitted out their stadiums with rail seats, and Manchester United are in the process of erecting 1,500 in a corner of Old Trafford. City will fit 5,620 seats with a rail in front to lean on behind one goal at the Etihad and believe it will enhance safety in an area where persistent standing occurs. The club’s director of operations Danny Wilson said: ‘The installation of a rail seating area means the Etihad will be ready and prepared should the Government bring forward legislation for safe standing in the Premier League. ‘The development and installation of a bespoke rail seating system will not only improve supporter safety but also ensures that, until there is a change in legislation which permits safe standing, the matchday experience of supporters in the South Stand will remain unaffected.’ The move follows extensive consultation by City, who have worked with Manchester City Council and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. Standing at matches has been banned in the top flight since the Taylor Report into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster but rail seating has proved successful on the continent. A wide-ranging survey of City supporters, conducted in 2018, prompted ‘overwhelmingly positive’ feedback on the prospect of rail seating. The club are also undertaking a major rebuild of the Etihad playing surface — their largest expenditure on it in 11 years. Meanwhile, City will be without captain Steph Houghton for their Women’s Champions League quarter-final first leg away to Barcelona today due to an achilles tendon injury. lSALFORD

have moved quickly to appoint Gary Bowyer, 49, as manager until the summer. Bowyer becomes Salford’s third manager of the season, after the League Two club parted company with Richie Wellens on Monday.