Celtic confirm safe-standing for over 2,000 fans, as club prepare to install rail seats

  • Celtic have announced a corner of the ground will feature standing 
  • Initial plans will see 2,600 supporters have access to rail seats 
  • The modified area will be in the corner of the Lisbon Lions Stand

Celtic have confirmed they will introduce a safe-standing area at Parkhead next season.

They will become the first top-flight club in Scotland to do so when they pioneer the use of rail seating commonly found at domestic matches in Germany and Austria.

The section can then easily be transformed back into an all-seated area for UEFA matches, with Europe’s governing body not allowing any standing inside stadiums. 

Celtic will introduce safe-standing at Celtic Park from the start of next season, accommodating 2,600 fans

Celtic will introduce safe-standing at Celtic Park from the start of next season, accommodating 2,600 fans

On the Celtic website, amid details of how supporters can renew season tickets, a graphic map of the stadium confirmed that a section — highlighted in yellow — will be the stadium’s new ‘safe-standing area’.

It will be located in the bottom tier at the corner of the North Stand and Lisbon Lions Stand and will house up to 2,600 supporters.

Prior to the merger of the Scottish Premier League with the Scottish Football League to form the Scottish Professional Football League in 2013, top-flight clubs were given the all-clear to introduce their own safe-standing areas.

And, after five years of talks, last year Celtic were finally given permission for their plan by Glasgow City Council, which had previously rejected applications from the club. 

The corner of the Lisbon Lions stand (shown in yellow) which houses the Green Brigade will feature rail seats

The corner of the Lisbon Lions stand (shown in yellow) which houses the Green Brigade will feature rail seats

Scotland is not bound by the law that prohibits standing areas in top-flight football in England. Terraces were banned down south following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 that killed 96 people and all-seater stadiums became compulsory in England in 1994.

Last week, after 27 years, a jury declared that the Hillsborough victims were unlawfully killed and a catalogue of failings by police and the ambulance services contributed to their deaths.

In a strange quirk of fate, Celtic will welcome members of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign to Parkhead on Sunday for their match with Aberdeen.

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