Newsletter

Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Opinion

Sheffield Wednesday fans not reacting too well after Newcastle United FOI Hillsborough revelation

1 year ago
Share

A number of Newcastle United supporters experienced problems at Hillsborough on the day of the FA Cup match in January, sadly, at the time a lot of Sheffield Wednesday fans got very defensive over the reported concerns expressed by some Newcastle United supporters, claiming that it was only because NUFC lost and the complaints a case of sour grapes.

How I saw the issues that day, was that it wasn’t a case of overcrowding, in terms of too many Newcastle fans in total in that entire away section.

Instead, it was a case of a combination of still not a great ground design at the Leppings Lane End, along with poor organisation on the day by the home club, especially when it came to stewards not managing the away fans better, in terms of how best to enter the away section and find their seat, or indeed claims of stewards directing them to find just any seat. The very minimal space in the away end concourses are / were probably the biggest issue.

It doesn’t need a massive number of people to produce an (at best) uncomfortable situation, if there is a bottleneck and hundreds of fans wanting to head in opposite directions and/or many fans static as others are trying to get past, then people can quickly find themselves trapped in a situation where they simply can’t move in any direction, with numbers then (usually unknowingly) pushing from both directions and making the situation worse.

Thankfully nobody was seriously hurt BUT that doesn’t mean that issues don’t need addressing, just to ensure that all future visiting fans have the best possible experience and don’t end up in any potential dangerous environment.

It has now emerged that following the concerns raised by Newcastle supporters, there HAS been a reduction now in the number of away fans allowed into that Leppings Lane End of Hillsborough.

This however has only become public knowledge due to Newcastle United putting in a FOI (Freedom Of Information) request which has then forced Sheffield City Council to reveal that reduction, after the Safety Advisory Group looked into the issues raised by Newcastle United supporters.

The fact that neither Sheffield City Council nor Sheffield Wednesday had willingly put this information into the public domain, is pretty poor to say the least.

As I state above, at the time Sheffield Wednesday fans wanted to blame concerns raised by NUFC fans as simply a reaction to their team losing the match.

As you will see by the comments below reacting to the latest news, apart from a few voices of reason, the vast majority of Sheffield Wednesday fans apparently still seeing this as the fault of Newcastle supporters and / or some kind of conspiracy against them, as a fanbase and football club. Sheffield Wednesday / Hillsborough unfairly picked out and treated differently.

Personally, I do think that after what happened in 1989, there should have been a totally publicly funded plan put in place to completely cover rebuilding that Leppings Lane end of Hillsborough.

Newcastle United official statement – 13 March 2023:

Following concerns raised by Newcastle United supporters who attended the club’s FA Cup third round tie at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium on 7th January 2023, Newcastle United can share the findings of the subsequent Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting called by Sheffield City Council.

This follows a request by Newcastle United – in consultation with individual supporters and Newcastle United Supporters Trust – to Sheffield City Council under the Freedom of Information Act in order to provide fans with greater transparency around safety issues.

The response below contains public sector information obtained from Sheffield City Council and is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

SAG meeting minutes:

Please find redacted SAG meeting minutes – including findings/conclusions and recommendations – here: https://nufc-production-cms-paris.azurewebsites.net/media/75177/sag-minutes-200123_redacted.pdf

Sheffield City Council’s response:

We have attached the minutes of the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting of 20 January 2023, which reviewed the match between Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United on 7 January 2023.

We have redacted the names of meeting attendees of the SAG under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on the grounds that it is personal data and disclosure would contravene the data protection principle under Article 5(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation that processing of personal data must be lawful, fair, and transparent.

Regarding capacity reduction, we can advise that:

The Upper West Stand now has a further reduced capacity of 2400 (down from 3200 as a result of the recent review) for a stand with a holding capacity of 4194

The Lower West Stand now has a further reduced capacity of 1300 (down from 1500 as a result of the recent review) for a stand with a holding capacity of 2366.

Sheffield Wednesday fans reacting to the news of the reduced Hillsborough away end capacity, following the Newcastle United FOI request, commenting via Owls Talk:

‘You know this would never have happened if Newcastle had won the game.

Sore, sore losers.’

‘Do they have a history of doing this at stadiums where they have lost games?’

‘It’s not our fault Newcastle fans are thick

Best thing to do is shut it down and have no away fans. When they ask why there are no tickets tell them to ask Newcastle fans why.’

‘In other words, only 55% of capacity for the whole stand.

Utterly ridiculous, but at least the moaning Toon fans have something to show for their cry baby routine.’

‘Over crowded my backside. All those Newcastle fans stood right behind the goal instead of taking their seats. Sit where they should be sat and there is no issue.’

‘So a max of 3700 from a total of 6560.’

‘What have Newcastle gained by getting the allocation reduced for other fans? Doesn’t affect us does it, the club will be affected as they’ll lose revenue when we play at home to teams with bigger away followings.

Mental really. Can anyone explain why they’ve done this?’

‘The findings from the SAG/Council inquiry following complaints by NUFC fans.’

‘Hope we get to play them again soon

give the whingeing geordie tosspots 1000 tickets only.’

‘It’s a lot of money to loose for the bigger championships games and if we were to get back into the prem.

Hopefully hasten investing in a new stand!

But what’s wrong with the top….no problems for 40 years…now reduce the numbers to plicate Newcastle Fans!’

‘Approx 50 accounts from NUFC supporters – but no evidence at all to support it.’

‘We need to think laterally. Its not the seats thats the problem.

Its access and its the concourses.

Maybe for example would be better taking out the back 1500 seats and put a concouse at the back of the stand.

And use the old NW corner gangways for additional access to the top tier by creating a walkway.

Maybe those dont work but theres enough space for lower cost solutions to get the capacity back to 4.5 to 5k.’

‘The stand should have been bulldozed in 1990, successive chairmen have done nothing.

just bulldoze the stand and start again with proper access in and outside, wider gangways and better facilities.

DC has the money, now is the time to remove the disaster from our stadium history once and for all and that only happens with a completely new stand.’

‘When we reach the prem I’m sure it shall be re vamped. But still give limited tickets Mardy Geordies.’

‘There are serious safety concerns for both Saudi and foreign nationals living in Saudi Arabia with 147 reported executions in 2022 by the Saudi government, for a variety of reasons including what they describe as “holding deviant beliefs”. Many of these executions are believed to have been on trumped up charges and without due process to legal representation.

It is horrible looking on from afar and seeing what has been done to Newcastle United. Hopefully Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle United fans can stand together in making the world a better place, not just on the Leppings Lane but all over the world. You have a voice and a chance to make a difference, please, don’t be afraid to raise your voice to the Saudis and resist their attempts to be an unwitting pawn in their larger game.’

‘Still maintain there’s nothing wrong whatsoever with that stand at full capacity.’

‘So now it’s time to replace the stand, whatever its perceived problems – and they’ll ALWAYS be there after the semi-final disaster.

Close that end, and put away supporters in the area between the North and the West for a season. That’s all they can have, as we’ll be filling the other three sides.’

‘Reduce the number of tickets we give away fans to the absolute minimum.

Stop selling alcohol and hot drinks to away fans to avoid accidents, as we can’t be too safe.’

‘Really dislike Newcastle now.’

‘Really hoping we get Newcastle away in cup so that we can launch a complete barrage of complaints about St Jame’s Park from the 5000 Owls fans that will go.

Give them a taste of their own medicine.’

‘Why are so many saying we should reduce the number of away supporters to the absolute minimum?

It’s not the away fans fault and surely that’d just be reciprocated with the away allocations we’d then be given.

It’s generally a better game and atmosphere with a decent away following.’

‘Sick of the media and do gooders that’s never even been to Hillsboro never seen Hillsboro absolute joke.’

‘What are Newscastle (supporters) hoping to gain. Do they want one of the original clubs to fold,.Spiteful Saudi loving vermin yet we still have a fair share of Geordie lovers on here.’

“Sheffield city council contacted the Newcastle United Supporters Trust regarding the January game and considered about 50 accounts on aspects such as the number of stewards and incorrect information given to fans who were directed through the wrong turnstiles.”

Do I have to hate all Newcastle fans – do they average 50k plus? – because of 50 of them talking to Sheffield Council? Asking for a friend.’

‘We need to allocate the Leppings Lane End to just ‘virtual fans’ now. Give em all some headsets at home.’

‘Geordies already done it if there ‘wor flags’ display is anything to go by.’

Share

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk

Have your say

© 2024 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks