Liverpool's Anfield to trial temporary installation of seats with safety rails in two areas of the stadium

ByNadeem Badshah

Published 15/06/2021 at 20:44 GMT

Liverpool are to become the latest Premier League club to trial seats with safety rails from next season in two parts of their Anfield stadium following a safety review. The Kop and Anfield Road Stand will see a total of 7,800 seats updated in the trial. Anfield will remain an all-seater stadium.

Liverpool's Anfield ground will trial the temporary installation of seats with safety rails in two areas of the stadium from the start of next season.

It follows a safety review by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) which said that during games fans persistently standing in the Kop and Anfield Road lower tier is an issue that needs to be addressed to ensure safety.

The Kop and Anfield Road Stand will see a total of 7,800 seats updated in the 12-month trial, the club announced.

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Around 1,800 new seats will be located in the back of the Kop and 6,000 in the Anfield Road Stand lower tier.

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Image credit: Getty Images

Anfield will remain an all-seater stadium and the trialled areas with the new seats and safety rails are not "safe standing" areas, the club said.

Research commissioned by the SGSA around the management of persistent standing areas has found that the installation of rails increases safety within all-seater stadiums.

The seating being installed at Anfield includes normal stadium seats with an integrated safety rail behind them to avoid a crowd collapse.

The club said it will not impact the visibility of the pitch for supporters and the design is to enable fans to stand safely at key moments in the game like goal celebrations but must revert to a seat at other times.

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Andy Hughes, managing director of Liverpool FC, said: “The safety of our supporters when they come to Anfield is our absolute priority and we are fully committed to working with the SGSA on the trial of these new seats at Anfield. It is critical that we listen to the experts and deliver their recommendations to address this safety issue.

“We have informed key stakeholders and thank all fans for their input and support during this trial. We will complete a full review of the trial in 12 months at the end of next season.”

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The club said that season ticket holders whose seats are impacted by these changes will be contacted in due course to explain the changes and provide options to remain in the new seat or move to a standard one.

Liverpool join a number of Premier League clubs who are already using the safety method with further clubs set to install safety rails during the summer.

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