English Premier League clubs have been told to improve facilities including ticketing systems for disabled football fans.
The House of Commons Culture Media and Sport select committee has today (Monday) released a report which calls for legal sanctions to be taken against top-flight clubs who fail to cater for their disabled fans.
The report suggests the Premier League itself will consider fining clubs that do not meet standards. The committee said it has been contacted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which is considering legal action.
Clubs have been told to improve facilities to make them accessible and inclusive to all football supporters. The committee considered matters such as parking, transport and toilet facilities as well as ticketing systems.
In 2015, the league promised to improve stadium facilities for disabled fans, stating that clubs would comply with official guidance by August 2017. However, the report said that several clubs, including Liverpool, Chelsea and Watford, are likely to miss a deadline on meeting basic standards. At the end of January, the Premier League will publish an interim report detailing each club’s progress towards the August accessibility deadline.
Committee chairman Damian Collins MP said: “It is especially disappointing that some of the rich clubs are not doing more. Sports fans with disabilities are not asking for a large number of expensive changes, only to have their needs taken into account in the way sports stadia are designed and operated.
“The Equality and Human Rights Commission has told us that it is minded to start legal proceedings against clubs that continue to flout the law. We support them in this.”
According to the BBC, Watford have already indicated they will fail to fulfil the pledge on wheelchair spaces, indicating in a club statement that “all known demand from disabled supporters has been met”.
The club said that if the extra 61 wheelchair spaces required under the league’s guidelines are provided at its Vicarage Road stadium, “700 able-bodied supporters would be displaced from cherished seats that they may have occupied for many years. If these supporters subsequently see that these positions are not appropriately occupied due to lack of demand, they will be at best disgruntled and at worst antagonistic.”
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