Taylor Report

Lord Justice Taylor's inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster is why a generation of fans has watched top-flight football sitting down. His interim report fixed on overcrowding as the cause; his final report, delivered in January 1990, went further and recommended all-seater grounds. The government accepted it that month, announcing that a new Football Licensing Authority would be directed to require all-seater stadiums, with standing to go from the top two divisions by August 1994 and from every Football League ground by 1999. Few inquiries have reshaped a physical landscape so visibly, and the ongoing debate about safe standing still starts from Taylor's report.