Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish has revealed that the club has faced calls from the safety council recently to close the fan renowned Block B at Selhurst Park for “a couple of games.”
The block that is famed for occupying the Holmesdale Fanatics was the subject of the interview we had with the Eagles chief, after two of their members were banned from the stadium for six matches after “creating a dangerous situation” during the Premier League fixture against Arsenal at the start of February.
Parish also spoke about the growing pressure he was under to retain control of the stadium and said that he parts of the stadium, including block B could be ordered to close if they are not seen to be in control of the crowd.
“I’m faced with growing calls to close it (Block B) for a couple of games and send a message but I have resisted that because I believe if not everybody is to blame, you should try and get the individuals,” he said.
“We have a great relationship with the Police, we have a great relationship with the safety council. We put our point of view across strongly, they either accept it or not accept it but we’re not entirely in control of this situation.
“Parts of the stadium could be ordered to close. We have to be seen to be controlling the crowd and making sure people can watch the game safely.”
Speaking about the Holmesdale Fanatics in his recent interview with us, the Crystal Palace co-chairman also had praise for the group of which he supports and loves.
“We love them! I love them! They’re great, I think they create a great atmosphere – you should be allowed to come to football, express yourself and enjoy yourself. I’ve been there and I know what the excitement is like but sometimes you don’t know what is good for you, sometimes you need somebody looking out for you and just saying “boys, that’s a bit too far. You’re going to injure yourself or someone else,” he said.
“We all like what they do, we don’t want to go back – we don’t want to be a sanitised ground. It’s part of who we are, they are part of our identity – we use them in our marketing. I’m a big supporter of them and they’ve got to let me help them sometimes.”
You can read the full interview with Steve Parish in which he speaks about the banning orders that have been imposed and much more by clicking here.
