Leeds United and West Yorkshire police are reviewing crowd safety protocols at Elland Road after hundreds of Newcastle United fans complained about a crush outside the away end on Saturday.
Traffic congestion around Elland Road meant that many supporters arrived later than planned for the Premier League game which was won 1-0 by Newcastle. With 3,000 away fans having made the trip and matters further slowed by Covid passport checks, significant overcrowding occurred around five turnstiles.
Officials eventually opened wider access gates and a Leeds spokesman confirmed a review of safety procedures was under way. “The club acknowledges the complaints raised by some Newcastle United supporters regarding issues experienced entering Elland Road on Saturday,” he said. “Leeds United will now work with the Newcastle Supporters Trust (NUST), West Yorkshire Police and our own safety team to review the issues raised and ensure we continue to provide a safe environment for everyone attending our stadium.”
The NUST chair, Greg Tomlinson, was heartened by Leeds’s response. “The Trust has raised significant concerns to Leeds United in relations to the issues that could have resulted in serious injury or worse and were not the fault of any Newcastle United fans,” he said. “I welcome the quick response from Leeds United and their commitment to undertaking a review. No football supporter should go to a match and be in fear of their own safety. There were issues when we played at Elland Road in November 2016 and it was even worse at the weekend. It is imperative lessons are learnt to prevent this from happening again.”
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Alex Hurst, an NUST board member, told the True Faith Podcast: “I went to Leeds in 2016 and it was a disgrace – the access, that crush you don’t feel anywhere else at football grounds. On Saturday nothing had improved. I’m at a loss as to how Leeds think this is an acceptable way to treat people and keep them safe.
“Essentially there were only two entrances and five turnstiles for nearly 3,000 people. I got there half an hour before kick-off because I knew it was difficult getting in but I still missed kick-off. In the end, they just opened the wider access points – it was a very unsafe situation.”
