Swansea and Leicester are the only top-flight grounds that meet designated standards for disabled fan provision and though clubs such as Arsenal offer modern amenities too many others lag behind • Clubs under fire for paying ‘lip service’ to disabled fans

At half-time during Arsenal’s 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace last month, on the raised concrete platform for disabled away supporters at Selhurst Park, Vinny Vyas, 21, pondered the question about what following Arsenal means to him. He has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which, after an active childhood, drained his muscle strength and left him confined to a wheelchair. He looked to his dad, Satish, who was feeding him a sandwich, and his cousin Akhil, also a Gooner, who had popped down from his seat to see him. Then he said: “Passion.”

Like the other disabled Arsenal supporters, and their carers alongside them, Satish praised the facilities for them at the Emirates stadium, but bemoaned the many frustrations and obstacles that persist at Premier League grounds, years after it became illegal to provide disabled people with an inferior service.

Premier League clubs under fire for ‘lip service’ to disabled fans Read more

Glen Shorey, another 21-year-old, who has Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare disease that causes damage to the nervous system, was there with his 17-year-old brother, Gavin, and said Arsenal is “my one true passion in life”, but he is writing a blog chronicling his discomforts this season. Like the others, he mentions being placed with home supporters at Aston Villa and Liverpool, being unable to see from the wheelchair platform at Chelsea, having his pitchside view blocked by a cameraman at Everton, and, overall, the few wheelchair spaces generally available.

Only two Premier League clubs, Swansea City and Leicester City, meet the minimum number of wheelchair places for the size of their stadiums, as recommended by the Home Office green guide for new grounds, and agreed by the 1998 Football Task Force to apply to existing grounds too. These numbers are cited in the guide Accessible Stadia, with other reasonable adjustments clubs were recommended to make to ensure their grounds would comply with new legislation prohibiting discrimination against disabled people.

Anthony Joy, 37, who has spina bifida, became a campaigner for better facilities after being appalled by the view when watching Arsenal at Palace last season, which was completely blocked by fans standing up, as they do at away matches. Last month, he was appreciative that the platform has been raised and he and his fellow disabled fans could see most, 80%, of the action.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Anthony Joy believes the Premier League should invest some of its TV revenue in facilities for disabled fans. Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose for the Observer

Like all of them, Joy reflected on the £5.136bn TV deal for 2016-19 the Premier League recently triumphantly announced and argued the clubs should use a fraction of it to put things right once and for all.

David Bernstein, the former Football Association chairman and current president of Level Playing Field (LPF), the disabled supporters’ campaign group, is forthright in his criticisms. “Disabled provision lags behind the work against other forms of discrimination and it has been very, very hard going to get the clubs to comply,” he says. “The clubs don’t do it because disabled provision costs money, and they raise the issue of having old grounds. But given the money at the top of the game now, this is indefensible.”

Despite the prohibition against disability discrimination in what is now the Equality Act 2010, clubs have generally not made the required improvements. There is a huge divide between new stadiums that mostly provide decent facilities and inadequate provision in many older grounds. Joyce Cook, chair of Level Playing Field, argues the FA or Premier League must regulate, so that clubs have to comply with their legal obligations and own recommended standards. She is driven by her own experience; going to a football match was a landmark in rebuilding her confidence after two years during which she had barely left her house, having become wheelchair-bound, with psoriatic arthritis, 17 years ago.

“We went to that game and there were moments when I forgot about the wheelchair and being disabled,” she says. “It took time to regain my confidence – that didn’t happen overnight – but I’ve never looked back. My story isn’t very remarkable. I could fill your columns with stories of disabled people whose lives have been changed because of their love for watching live sports. It really matters – we have to ensure our sports venues are welcoming and inclusive to all.

“We have been calling for change for over a decade. Some clubs are doing a good job, but there is still a great deal to do. Disabled fans have endured poor conditions at many top clubs for far too long.”

Clubs that have built new stadiums in recent years have clearly been led by modern legislation to provide for disabled supporters in ways older grounds never did. A Swansea City spokesman explained that when the local council built Liberty Stadium, “all parties, including the fellow tenants, rugby union’s Ospreys, were adamant that the stadium should have excellent accessibility for all supporters. The facilities put in place were above and beyond the recommended levels currently in Accessible Stadia to ensure current demand is met along with the planned future expansion of the stadium.”

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At Arsenal, also cited as a model, the club provide 96% of the minimum recommended wheelchair places, a room for disabled supporters to change, lifts and a lounge facility available before games. The club has a dedicated team to help Joy and his fellow fans with tickets and other needs. “We see our work on disability and inclusion as an important part of what we stand for as a football club,” an Arsenal spokesman says.

Leicester City’s 197 wheelchair spaces at King Power Stadium exceeds the 186 recommended and the club talks of “a long-standing commitment to providing excellent facilities for disabled supporters”. This season, fans using wheelchairs have had some problems with the view from pitchside and Leicester say they are committed to putting that right this summer.

Among the clubs that do not comply, West Bromwich Albion provide a high proportion of wheelchair places and say they try to give priority to disabled supporters, while West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur say they are hampered at their current old grounds and will fulfil best practice when they move to their planned new stadiums. Manchester City, currently with 88% of the recommended figure, say they will be fully compliant when the Etihad Stadium is expanded to 55,000, and will make other improvements.

Queens Park Rangers, who have just 17% of their ground’s minimum recommended wheelchair places, the Premier League’s lowest proportion, cited the age of Loftus Road and the aspiration to build a new stadium.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The view from the area for disabled fans at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Guardian video

A Chelsea spokesman said the club have looked to comply as far as they can with the recommended standards and have made various changes, including to the away section where disabled fans’ view was blocked by people standing. “While we acknowledge this figure [108] remains below the recommended capacity of wheelchair spaces, the design and age of Stamford Bridge is prohibitive,” the spokesman said.

At Liverpool, where away fans can be placed among home supporters, the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association has been distressed that the new main stand development will not bring Anfield, currently at 45%, up to the recommended minimum. Half the 8,000 new seats will be corporate and the disabled threshold for the ground will be met only when the Anfield Road stand is redeveloped.

Manchester United argue that the recommended minimum numbers only apply to new stadiums, a stance LPF emphatically rejects, and fans at Old Trafford have complained about the club policy not to sell season tickets to disabled supporters. “We recognise that we can improve and are working with the Premier League to ensure that we are doing all we reasonably can,” a United spokesman says.

argues that while the highest standards are generally at clubs with new grounds, all its clubs work hard to make good provision for their supporters. That is not sufficient for LPF and its backers. Lord Holmes, disability commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and, as Chris Holmes, a nine-times Paralympic Games swimming gold medallist, is critical of the Premier League and says the commission would consider suing. “This is the 23rd year of the Premier League yet the potential for disabled fans to access their clubs is shocking,” he says. “It is possible to have high levels of inclusion and accessibility, irrespective of having old grounds, and given the TV deal, it would be scandalous if football does not do more.

“We have had discussions with the Premier League and it is fair to say they are paying lip service to access for disabled people. As a result we are considering what steps to take. We have a number of powers, and if individuals bring a case to us we would consider it within our litigation strategy.”

Joy, wheeling himself out of old, knocked-about Selhurst Park, pleased with the 2-1 Arsenal win, said: “Palace have improved things; that shows it can be done. But we are too reliant on the clubs doing it themselves – nobody is holding them to account. It’s time to change.”