History
Eurostand 98
10 years ago European football fans made a manifestation by creating a united protest: Eurostand 1998. The protest was thought out after UEFA introduced a prohibition against stands without seats at international matches a prohibition wich was introduced in England at the start of the season 1994/95. The prohibition had been on its way for several years, following the tragic disaster at Hillsborough in 1989, where 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives in the FA-Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forrest. Disaster struck when the pressure on the already overfilled stand became to big, but many people thought that UEFAs primary reason for introducing the prohibition was the simple matter of controlling the fans at football matches. Moreover fans feared the prohibition would spread to the national leagues around Europe, inspired by the English methods.
The situation today
In present day the prohibition of stands without seats is a fact in England, Spain, and Holland. We oppose this prohibition, because we believe that the fans of the respective clubs should have the right to decide whether they want to stand up or sit down during matches.
There are several campaigns for stands without seats going on today. In England the campaign Safe Standing is up and running and the fan-cooperation BAFF are initiating campaigns in its home country, Germany.
Safe Standing: www.safestanding.com
BAFF: http://aktive-fans.de
Protest-highlights in 2008
The main points in this protest can be read under main subjects on this website.The reason why exactly these 5 main points have been chosen is that we believ it is possible to start a discussion about - and maybe even make changes to particularly these main points if we show our discontent. Many fans of football despise the growth in the amount of foreign players in the clubs and also the structure of UEFAs Champions League. To be realistic however, we already know that those subjects unfortunately are out of our hands as they seem impossible to change or make an effect on. Consequently we will focus on subjects which we have a chance to effect.
The choice has been made to focus on 3 very fan-related subjects, plus what we call the problem of commercialization of football as well as last but not least a rule which inhibits the joy and passion of football.
We hope that Eurostand 2008 can create focus on, and debate about these subjects. Without exemption we urge all football fans in Europe to support this protest. The more fans participating in the protest, the bigger the chance of getting influence on the subjects at the clubs, UEFA and the national associations.