The club’s attempts to get fans to sit down has reached new levels with reports that up to 80 fans have received letters from ITFC telling them that they may face eviction if they don’t heed requests from stewards to sit down.
On Saturday as at other recent games this season stewards in the North Stand have attempted to enforce the sitting down rule far more stringently than previously. This has led to some stand-offs between supporters preferring to stand and stewards enforcing the policy.
Town secretary David Rose said: "The FA Premier League are to initiate a campaign to deter standing, which is on the increase in football stadia throughout the country. There is serious concern that crowd safety is again being put at risk and unless we comply with the League’s directive, the safety authorities have the power to reduce our stadium capacity.”
Supporters will get three chances before their season tickets are revoked. And the club have said they will not hesitate to eject offenders and are hoping that supporters will comply. However, up to now they are less than happy with the reaction stewards have faced, David Rose again: "The club was very disappointed at the response the stewards received at the match against Sunderland, therefore all season ticket holders in the first five rows of the North Stand have been informed of their first warning concerning their behaviour.”
All this seems rather draconian and somewhat arbitrary, especially the bit about everyone in the first five rows of the North Stand. Also the message has clearly not got through to other clubs as Leicester fans were allowed to stand throughout or recent game at Filbert Street without once being challenged.
TWTD is interested in your views on this. Please email the editors or add your thoughts to the forthcoming Town Topic on the subject.
Guilllermo Graaven Town’s U18 Dutch international will be out for three or four months. The Dutchman was injured during the reserve match with Leicester and suffered ankle ligament damage as well as a cracked shin. He had surgery in London and will miss out on going to Yugoslavia for international duty with his Town compatriot Nabil Abidallah.
Town have added French right-back Benoit Subrin to their Academy squad. The teenager, from St Etienne has been on trial at Town and has been offered a year’s contract.