West Yorkshire Police confirm new measures in place after Newcastle United fan distress at Leeds United

West Yorkshire Police has today confirmed that extra measures have been put in place at Elland Road after crowd crushes experienced by Newcastle United fans earlier this year.

Newcastle fans were involved in a melee outside the away end before the Premier League match on Saturday, January 22.

At the time the site heard from fans who spoke of stewards laughing and having to crawl under the arm of stewards, as well as a Leeds United fan who had been worried by similar problems before.

Last week NewcastleWorld understood from Leeds United that talks had been "productive" between the club, West Yorkshire Police and the Newcastle United Supporters Trust.

Now the police have released a statement updating fans on the results of those talks.

Chief Superintendent Damien Miller, Leeds District Commander, said: “Our role in helping to ensure the safety of people attending football matches at Elland Road is something we take very seriously.

“We have worked with the club to support the review of the congestion issues that some away fans experienced at the game with Newcastle United.

"We are aware that the club has identified issues, primarily around the operation of the turnstiles and ticketing, and has put measures in place which the local authority Safety Advisory Group are satisfied with.

“We joined the club for its meeting with Newcastle United Supporters Trust and listened to their concerns.

"We are aware they and other visiting teams’ supporters’ groups have been updated by Leeds United about the measures now put in place to avoid any similar situation in future.”

What did Newcastle United fans say at the time?

One said: "I was in between two turnstiles and there was a steward holding a button on each of the two turnstiles.

"His arms were outstretched. He hadn't purposefully trapped us in the corner but I couldn't get out without crawling under his arm.

"I was speaking to someone in the queue and he said, 'as long as nobody gets hurt today it's a win'. I couldn't agree with that more.

"I've done over 100 games and multiple away games all over the country and that was the scariest thing I've ever seen at a football ground."

Another said: "I was there with my wife. I'm more used to it [crowds] from past times when we used to stand, but my wife is much smaller than me and she was getting pushed and shoved and squashed and quite frightened really.

"I think the biggest point that we made afterwards was the lack of accountability from police and stewards. I wouldn't say they turned a blind eye to it but they did absolutely nothing to help the situation.

"The nearer the front you got the stewards were there but, no word of a lie, they were laughing about it. It made people more upset and angry.