Irish Examiner view: Standing in UK stadia only start of changes

Five clubs are in the vanguard of the early adoption of 'rail seating' from January 1

In the era of net zero, the reintroduction of standing is unlikely to be the last change to the match-day experience.

Standing by fans in professional football grounds in Britain has been outlawed since the devastating Hillsborough disaster in April 1989, which claimed the lives of 97 supporters and has had consequences that still echo today.

The scandalous, and ultimately fatal, practice of herding fans into locked and fenced pens led directly to one of the great pieces of reforming legislation in sporting history, based on the Taylor Report, which said stadia should be all-seater or lose their licences.