Government steps down over standing room only

Sports Minister, Kate Hoey, has climbed down in her campaign to have standing areas restored to Premiership football grounds. Hoey was given a report from the Football Licensing Authority (FLA), commissioned by the government and the government has now concluded that as safety is the primary consideration, current arrangements are the most acceptable. According to a report in the Daily Mail, The FLA inspectors saw the standing areas in use during a game in Hamburg last month and reported that they appeared to be 'filled above official capacity'. However, in a statement, Chris Smith, Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, says: The government does not think that German stadia are unsafe but that for historical reasons, UK grounds have the highest standards of spectator safety in the world.