Terraces will remain a fixture in German grounds after a security summit of all professional football clubs in Frankfurt yesterday decided against enforcing them to have all-seater stadia.

The German football federation (DFB) and German Football League (DFL) invited representatives of all clubs in the top three tiers for discussions on the best way to deal with the issue of crowd violence, which has been on the increase.

The use of pyrotechnic devices is becoming a serious issue while violence outside grounds has also started to escalate with several incidents reported last season.

Eradicating standing areas was one suggestion to deal with the problems, but the clubs have unanimously decided against that proposal.

“German football is a model of success and it should remain that way in the future,” said DFL president Dr Reinhard Rauball in a statement.

“We can be proud of our fan culture of standing terraces, which is steeped in tradition, and moderate ticket prices. We want to protect this situation.”

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