Wednesday accused over Hillsborough findings
Club ‘did not reveal details’ of safety review into Toon crush
SHEFFIELD Wednesday and Sheffield City Council did not reveal the full detail of the findings of a safety review that has led to the capacity of Hillsborough’s Leppings Lane end being reduced.
Newcastle supporters raised concerns following their FA Cup third-round tie on January 7, when 4,500 away fans were in attendance, and provided statements which detailed crushing, overcrowded access points and inadequate crowd management.
This prompted a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting on January 20, chaired by Sheffield City Council. But only now, after a Freedom of Information request made by Newcastle United, is it known that 15 recommendations were made in total, including the removal of a corrugated fence and a review of ticketing errors, with the capacity of the Leppings Lane end subsequently reduced from 4,700 to 3,700.
However, when the football club and city council released a joint statement on February 10, none of the above was mentioned. It was 34 years ago at the same end of the ground that the Hillsborough disaster occurred, claiming the lives of 97 Liverpool fans.
The SAG meeting also heard how supporters felt that ‘21st century fans were attending a ground built in 1913’. Part of the club and council statement from February read: ‘A review at Hillsborough Stadium over concerns about crowd movements has concluded, stating that all aspects of safety at the stadium complied fully with the club’s Safety Certificate. Minor recommendations were made relating to the overall matchday experience.’
Liam Dooley, Wednesday’s chief operating officer, said at the time: ‘We are pleased that the findings support the confidence we have in our procedures.’
However, Newcastle United and its Supporters’ Trust (NUST) were not satisfied, and the club made an FOI request ‘to provide fans with greater transparency around safety issues’.
As a result, only now can the full extent of the SAG meeting and capacity reduction be revealed.
Fifty accounts of supporters were considered, which included testimony of ‘fans being directed through wrong turnstiles’, ‘overcrowding leading to distress amongst children’, ‘ a lack of direction from stewards’, ‘tickets sold in areas that were netted off’ and ‘ police and stewards being unresponsive to requests for information’.
Alex Hurst, chair of NUST, said: ‘The club (Newcastle) have done brilliantly. They could have just accepted Sheffield Wednesday’s version of events but they didn’t.
‘The fact Sheffield Wednesday did not publicly announce that the capacity has been reduced is worrying. That is a very serious outcome, that the Safety Advisory Group at Sheffield City Council felt it necessary to make that recommendation.
‘You would expect the club to reveal that and also apologise to the Newcastle fans who had to go through this process.’
Sportsmail understands there was frustration among those raising concerns at what they perceived to be a ‘nothing to see here’ attitude from Wednesday. We contacted the club at the time and received no reply. They did not respond last night, either.
The Government’s sports stadium regulator, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, also investigated the reports of overcrowding and were present at the SAG meeting.
They said: ‘Fans should expect safety, security and good customer service when they go to a football match. We welcome the measures that have been put in place to improve the matchday experience of away supporters.’
Sheffield City Council were approached for comment last night.