Government reject West Brom's application for safe standing at The Hawthorns

The Baggies had offered to run a pilot scheme in the top tier of the Smethwick End next season for both home and away fans and made a formal application in October 2017.

At the moment, clubs in the top two tiers of English football must have all-seater stadia, but the Baggies had hoped to capitalise on growing calls to pilot safe-standing and were ready to install 3,600 railed seats this summer.

However, they have been told by the Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch, that there are no plans to change the all-seater policy at grounds, and that their pilot will not be needed.

The decision was described as ‘short-sighted’ and ‘disappointing’ by Mark Miles, Albion’s director of operations, who has conducted months of research into the scheme.

He visited Celtic Park and Hoffenheim to see the system in use, and came to the conclusion that railed seating in the Smethwick End would actually be safer because it eased the problem of persistent standing.

Albion have written back to the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and asked for a review, but Miles does not believe it will change their decision.

“I’m very disappointed,” Miles told the Express & Star. “The government have no determination to review the all-seater policy created in 1992, but football is a very different place to what it was in 1992.

“We now have large numbers of supporters home and way which choose to persistently stand in seated areas.

“As a club we’ve worked to manage those people who stand as best we can.

“We’re not introducing standing into the stadium, the standing is already taking place, we’re just trying to manage it better.

“Railed seats have a number of benefits, there is a barrier in front of every single person, but it’s also a lot thinner.

“At the moment, if you stand you have 29cm taken up by the seats, so you only have 40cm to stand in.

“The new system only takes up 5cm, so you have so much more space to stand. It stops people blocking up gangways, making it easier for police, stewards and paramedics to get in.

“We proposed installing it in the back section of the Smethwick End so the front section of the stand would remain seated.

“There are some people currently being made to stand because the person in front of them is standing.

“I actually think it will reduce the number who are standing. On Saturday the whole of the Swansea end were stood up, I bet some of them wanted to sit.

“Some people can’t stand for two hours. Some people need or want to stand. There would have been a choice for fans.”

Albion have been at the forefront of this initiative and Miles has come round to the idea after months of research.

He is disappointed because Albion’s pilot scheme could have been used by the government in any future decisions.

“We’ve done plenty of research over the past 18 months,” said Miles. “I’ve visited Celtic and Hoffenheim, where I actually watched a game standing up. It’s the right thing to do.

“We made the formal application in October. There’s been ongoing dialogue in those last six months.

“For whatever reason, the decision to improve the safety of the supporters has been declined.

“We weren’t going to be increasing capacity, it would have cost us a significant amount of money to install. It’s not a cheap operation.

“Several other clubs are considering it but as far as I’m aware we’re the only club in the top two divisions to make a representation to do it.

“I have written back requesting a review about the decision, I don’t think that will happen in the short or medium term. It’s disappointing.”

However, the Baggies have left the door open for future pilot schemes and Miles does believe safe standing will be introduced at some stage.

“We remain open for dialogue,” he said. “I think it will happen at some point, now’s the time for it to happen in my opinion.

“The rail seating wouldn’t be the right solution for everyone, but it would be for us with the geography of the Smethwick.

“It would have been the perfect place to do it and review it. We could have given them empirical evidence to look at.

“We know the supporters will be disappointed as well. The stance we we’re taking is on safety. Others will say it improves atmosphere.

“It has also been a regular topic of discussion at our Albion Assembly meetings where the members' support has been clear.

“I think the Minister has taken a short-sighted view and is preventing the club from creating a safer environment for supporters."

A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: "We have no plans to change our position and introduce standing accommodation at grounds in the top two divisions covered by the all-seater policy.

"Alongside the sports ground safety authority we will continue to monitor the issue of spectator accommodation and the use of safe standing where it is permitted."