Premier League: safe standing used for 1^st time for Liverpool-Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 02/01/2022

Chelsea FC - Liverpool FC (2-2), Matchday 21 of the 2021-22 Premier League season, was the first football match to trial the use of "safe standing" in England and Wales, on 02/01/2022.

Standing in stadiums had been banned in the United Kingdom since 1989 and the introduction of a law passed following the Hillsborough disaster on 15/04/1989, in which 96 spectators were crushed to death during a match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield (ENG), in a crowd surge caused by police who attempted to ease crowding outside the stadium by opening a gate into part of the stadium.

At Stamford Bridge, in the lower tier of the Matthew Harding Stand and upper and lower tiers of the Shed End, a total of over 12,000 safe standing spaces have been created. These standing areas, which will be in place for home and away fans at the stadiums of the participating clubs, provide fans with safety rails between rows and the option to sit or stand.

Cardiff City FC (Sky Bet Championship), Chelsea FC, Manchester City FC, Manchester United FC and Tottenham…