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During the first half of the West Ham game, a man near me in block 17 of the North stand was told to sit down by a steward. The fan had been on his feet for approximately five seconds and was attempting to start a song and get the crowd behind the team. He hadn't been warned previously and certainly wasn't standing persistently.

A week later at Villa Park, I was warned twice about standing up on the back row. The first warning was fair enough as I had stood for the first five minutes and although there was nobody behind me I was breaking ground regulations.

Later in the half the same steward approached me and told me that I was now on my "final, final, final warning and was being watched by CCTV and head stewards". I had also stood up to start a chant and didn't intend to ignore his previous instruction to sit down other than when the majority were stood. So there you have it, chanting in football grounds is no longer fair game

These are just two examples of the ridiculous situation that is now facing fans. Surely the atmosphere in grounds is dead enough without individuals fearing ejection for having the audacity to try and create some noise.

The Football Spectators Act (1989), which was passed following Lord Taylor's report into the Hillsborough disaster, is the piece of legislation that stated all football grounds in the top two divisions should be all-seater.

Whether or not the Act was the right response to the disaster is another debate entirely. The main problem is that there is no consistency in how clubs enforce the persistent standing regulations from match to match and from stand to stand.

Local authority safety councils are responsible for the certificates that allow fans to attend games, and in the past Trafford council have threatened to close sections of Old Trafford and MFC have reduced the allocations of clubs whose fans refuse to sit down.

I haven't seen any media reports regarding threatened closures recently. And Newcastle will bring almost 4,000 fans to next week's derby and the majority of them will stand up throughout the whole game. I wonder what has changed. Or are clubs and safety councils actually interpreting the regulations as it suits them?

Watch games on TV at Old Trafford or Anfield, the Stretford End and the Kop stand as one. I noticed recently that at Upton Park West Ham fans stand even in the side stands of the ground.

Stewards at the Riverside have great difficulty in forcing away fans that travel in big numbers to sit down and appear to have given up even attempting to do so. Yet at the other end of the same ground some fans at the back of the North stand have again had letters left on their seats warning them that they are breaking ground regulations and that they are being monitored.

I fully accept that clubs have to be seen to be attempting to enforce the regulations but many of them are going about it in entirely the wrong way. I can anticipate a flashpoint if the situation isn't addressed. Patience will snap and an unfortunate steward will be assaulted for doing his job.

Safety officers and stewards in positions of seniority need to ensure that there is clarity and consistency and for the sake of football's soul remember that the supporters who have paid through the nose to attend the game must be allowed to support their team.

Andrew Glover