Shurely this could be a Human Rights issue - If there is a collective group who agree that they will stand ONLY when singing, then should their views / beliefs not be upheld ?

And who can sing and chant and sit down at the same time.

Do you sit down through a concert ?

Do you sit down in a church when you sing a hymn ?

Standing and singing go hand in hand.  :024:

Devotees of this forum who are members of the Free Church of Scotland and indeed the Free Presbyterian Church will be well aware that it is common practice to sit down while singing psalms in praise of our Lord, so it would not be at all difficult for them to sing songs in praise of our Team while sitting down.

buckett - depends on which Free Church you go to!  many now advocate standing to sing....  though some may say they are not the 'true' wee frees and others would beg to differ!

Devotees of this forum who are members of the Free Church of Scotland and indeed the Free Presbyterian Church will be well aware that it is common practice to sit down while singing psalms in praise of our Lord, so it would not be at all difficult for them to sing songs in praise of our Team while sitting down.

Ah but... our team is different from our lord, couldnt get really excited the last time i attended a wee free service ( non voluntary )

Devotees of this forum who are members of the Free Church of Scotland and indeed the Free Presbyterian Church will be well aware that it is common practice to sit down while singing psalms in praise of our Lord, so it would not be at all difficult for them to sing songs in praise of our Team while sitting down.

... and devotees of gospel churches stand up, sing and dance while they praise the very same lord. Question - which set of worshippers actually look like they are putting in an effort and reaping rewards by truly enjoying it !!!!!

You are correct - you can sing while sitting down ..... you just cannot put the same passion into it !!!

Good point Scotty. Also in some areas of Scotland the FP church does not allow its members to have sex standing up. This is because somebody might think that they were dancing.

Good point Scotty. Also in some areas of Scotland the FP church does not allow its members to have sex standing up. This is because somebody might think that they were dancing.

I suppose with your west coast connections( forgive the pun) you will be speaking from experience?

Well, in that case, the wee frees can choose not to abide in the feckin Standing Section - on Saturdays as well as Sundays.  :001:

Is it not the case that we are not allowed to stand up at games because of legislation. My point would be, that it applies to all, not just caley jags fans as at the moment it would appear to be.

Could it be that when we achieved SPl status there was a clause stating that we had  to sit done an shut up and be grateful  :024: :024: :024:

can not believe this is even being discussed :33:

Is it not the case that we are not allowed to stand up at games because of legislation.

There is no legislation covering Scotland. UEFA stipulates stadia should be all seated for european competitions (but not that you actually need to sit down !!), the SPL has its own rules which it brought in voluntarily that fans should not be allowed to stand in seated areas and has reinforced that rule by pointing out (threatening ?) to clubs that local authorities may have safety certificates reviewed if they dont comply with it ....

can not believe this is even being discussed :33:

Why ? This is a valid topic and one which has affected a number of our most passionate fans who were trying to take advantage of the singing section promoted by the club and supporters trust only to find out that the club or certain individuals acting on behalf of the club had different ideas on the day. A PR exercise that should have left a very nice feeling for the fans and the players/management (who have complained at length about the lack of atmosphere) has once again been allowed to turn into a PR and media disaster ......

scotty im not saying anything against any1 in the forum,i feel that sitting or standing,you should be able to do what u want at a footie match.and if its standing  u shouldn't have 2 b chucked out 4 it.we pay our club and go and watch them week in week out and we can't even choose what we want to do.

i'm basically saying,can't believe we even need to have this discussion!

scotty im not saying anything against any1 in the forum,i feel that sitting or standing,you should be able to do what u want at a footie match.and if its standing  u shouldn't have 2 b chucked out 4 it.we pay our club and go and watch them week in week out and we can't even choose what we want to do.

i'm basically saying,can't believe we even need to have this discussion!

and what about the poor bum sitting behind you who doesnt have the physical ability to stand for a whole match

a standing section is the way to go :022:

Roscoe - ok - thanks for clarifying - you werent very clear about what you meant with the first comment and red card !!!

Chris123 - you are right - there should be areas where supporters who do not wish (or are unable) to stand for a whole game should go and equally there should be safe standing/singing areas where those who do wish to sing/stand can go.

Toronto FC have done this very well - the main (west) stand upper and lower tiers are pretty much filled with those who want to remain seated as well as the prawn sandwich brigade and the stand opposite (east) is similar. However the whole of the south end of the ground and a couple of corner sections of the west and east stands are jammed full of people who purchased tickets that were sold as "supporters section" from the outset. The supporters section has more relaxed rules such as being allowed to bring in banners and flags (not allowed in the other stands), being allowed to stand during the game (not allowed in other stands) and a few other little concessions that the club made to the fans ... **** the club even provide a storage area for drums and banners and have also produced 2 of these massive flags that go round the ground a few times during each game. have a look on youtube for some of the toronto fc clips (search for "toronto fc first goal", "danny dichio", "chantez" and such like) and you will see what they are building ... and that is a club that is only 6 months old !!!

I remember when ICT actively sought the opinions and ideas of its fans ......  :tumble:

I just laughed when I saw the front page of the OFFICIAL website - shouldn't all those folk be thrown out???  :017:

that is so ironic .....  :rotflmao:

Well

Val Doonican managed to sit down and sing, and he wore big sweaters at the same time.

I can just picture him singing along to Paddy McGinty’s Goat or Delaneys donkey in the North Stand while clad in his hand knitted sweaters and sat in his seat.singalongaDoonican

Just like you - ya old git - he favoured a feckin rockin chair.

Not sure if this has been posted before but it seems quite relevant, seen it on Sky Sports News of late and seems to be getting a lot of media attention because of how well it works in Germany

LINK  :003:

Make sure to sign the petition..

"We the undersigned, call upon the Football Licensing Authority, Local Authorities, and football clubs, to work in partnership with supporters, to resolve the problems related to standing at football matches.

We recognize that many supporters prefer to stand, as this helps to create the unique atmosphere of British football. We also appreciate that some supporters prefer to sit, and do not wish their view to be blocked by those in front standing.

We are concerned that sanctions threatened by the FLA, such as reduced capacities, will affect all supporters, and that restricted ticket allocations for away matches could lead to visitors obtaining tickets in home areas, with the potential for disorder.

We ask that decisions as to the acceptability of standing be based on objective safety assessments at each ground, to be undertaken with the involvement of supporters.

We consider that in most cases there is no significant safety risk from supporters standing in front of their allocated seats.

We consider that any solution should provide choice, by agreeing areas for supporters who wish to stand, and for those who prefer to sit.

We would like to see standing accepted in these areas, for a trial period of at least one season.

We are prepared to adhere to a reasonable code of conduct in relation to standing in seated areas."

I was browsing the official site earlier and came across the section where the club list their 'codes of practice' .... It made interesting reading

here are a few excerpts ...... [comments in red] - the full policies can be read on the official site [HERE]

SUPPORTERS CHARTER

The Supporters Charter sets out the commitment of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club to give our supporters a safe and enjoyable experience of football.

[li]We will consult our supporters on a regular basis both through the Supporters Trust meetings and ongoing direct communication. Supporters who are not members of this Trust will be consulted through informal activities.[/li]
[li]We have and will continue to develop ways to consult key stakeholders including shareholders, sponsors, local authorities and other interested parties.[/li]
[li]We will continually seek to improve the quality of service we provide for our supporters.[/li]
[li]We seek to achieve the highest level of service to all our supporters.[/li]
[li]We will treat all our customers in a professional and courteous manner.
several reports of less than courteous incidents have arisen with no visible consequences for those at the centre of them.[/li]
[li]We will try to respond to any contact from a supporter within fourteen days, unless circumstances which renders our administration unable to respond. [/li]

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

To ensure full participation of all, we will not accept discriminatory practice by the management, staff, volunteers or supporters whether physical or verbal. This will be reflected in our club as normal practice, whether in recruitment of staff or volunteers, our promotional materials or general behaviour. Any form of discrimination will be looked upon as serious, will not be taken lightly and may lead to disciplinary action by the board of directors.

Such as "targetting" an individual for ejection whilst allowing hundreds of others to perform the same act with no repercussions ?

Whilst the first two policies explicitly include supporters, the next one does not specify and may only be applicable to staff, but it was worth including.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club is committed to ensuring equal treatment of all and requires all employees and members of staff of whatever level or authority, to abide and adhere to this general principle and the requirements of the Codes of Practice issued by the Equal Opportunities Commission and Commission for Racial Equality. Our employees and members of staff are expected to abide by the requirements of the Race Relations Act 1976, Sex Discrimination Act 1986 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Specifically discrimination is prohibited by:

[li]Imposing on an individual requirements or conditions which are in effect more onerous on that individual than they are on others.
Like making supporters in one section of the ground sit down or be thrown out whilst turning a blind eye to large swathes of the rest of the ground - especially when certain teams come calling ?[/li]
[li]Victimisation or harassment of an individual by virtue of discrimination.
Such as "targetting" an individual for ejection whilst allowing hundreds of others to perform the same act with no repercussions ?[/li]

Power to the feckinp peeple.  :021: :011: