Ahead of their FA Cup match against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest released a statement stating that “serious concerns” have been voiced concerning fans’ continuous standing at the City Ground, which could result in the club receiving “severe sanctions.”
On Wednesday night, Forest will play the Red Devils in the FA Cup fifth round. Additionally, the team has made an effort to educate supporters that standing is not permitted during games ahead of the tie. The club has issued a warning, saying that if they don’t solve the issue, the capacity of City Ground may be lowered.
Forest’s statement read: “Nottingham Forest would like to remind all supporters that persistent standing is prohibited at The City Ground for your safety and the safety of others.
This season, the Safety Advisory Group of the local authorities has expressed grave concerns regarding standing that continues during our home games.
If the team doesn’t deal with chronic standing, it could face harsh penalties, like having the stadium’s capacity reduced on game days. This would hurt our finances and reputation, restrict the number of tickets available to supporters, and have a very detrimental impact on our well-known atmosphere. This cannot be let to occur.
Therefore, it is essential that we take further action to guarantee that the stringent stadium standards are followed.
“Please be aware that we reserve the right to ban people from the stadium and, in suitable cases, revoke season passes if fans disregard the instructions of our security and stewarding colleagues. Regretfully, this season we have already had to prohibit some fans for consistent standing.
“Your cooperation is essential as we actively investigate long-term solutions to this problem, such as the possible establishment of Safe Standing areas.”
