The night of 7th January was one of jubilation and celebration that saw League One side Sheffield Wednesday knock out current Premier League top-four contenders Newcastle United from the FA Cup. Many Owls fans will claim this was the “Magic of the FA Cup” where David beats goliath, but for others, it was a night where tragedy could have struck once again.
The greatest disaster in English footballing history saw the death of 97 fans simply supporting their team at Hillsborough stadium on 15th April 1989, to whom the whole country still honours and remembers nearly 34 years later. The monumental lessons learned from the event may be called into question, however, as there were a great number of reports after the fixture of overcrowding and a crush like what unfolded decades ago.
The incident occurred in the same stand that contained the tens of thousands of fans crammed in on that fateful matchday, but this time there was a figure of just over 4,000 Newcastle fans in attendance. Despite the installation of seats into the away end and the removal of perimeter fencing after the Taylor Report, there are still concerns for the safety of travelling supporters due to accusations of lapse stewarding and a poorly designed entryway into the stand that seems to be a recipe for overcrowding.
Sheffield Wednesday’s stance on the events has been protective of both the stewarding and the safety of fans, stating “the stewarding numbers in place within the visitor’s section of the stadium exceeded the requirements of the Safety Certificate”, which was published on their website four days after claims circulated.
However, what may also need to be reviewed is the movement of Newcastle fans in several posted videos, where they are not seated and are congregated in a small area just in front of the main entryway, thus making the blame trickier to pinpoint.
The club has “submitted its comprehensive observations to the governing body”, in this case, the British Government’s sports stadium safety regulator, as part of a review of complaints. There have been no official reports of injuries or fatalities following the FA Cup tie. But the question is- do Sheffield Wednesday have to consider a fundamental redesign of the away stand before the unthinkable happens and another life is lost?