CAMPAIGNERS demanding the introduction of safe standing areas at football grounds have called for Football Licensing Authority chief executive John De Quidt to resign.

On Wednesday, De Quidt told The Daily Echo that "there's more chance of martians landing" than safe standing areas being introduced.

That has angered football fans who want the right to stand and Mark Longden, who represents Safe Standing areas for England (SAFE), has hit back.

He said: "The Department of Culture, Media and Sport maintain that the all seater policy will stay in place, unless or until compelling evidence is produced that it's no longer necessary.

"Given that it'd be the FLA's role to present such evidence impartially, it's outrageous that its chief executive has let fly with such grotesquely biased, severely blinkered and highly dubious opinions. De Quidt should quit."

The FLA's monitoring of St Mary's last month sparked the safe standing debate amongst Saints fans and, when Labour MP Roger Godsiff's Private Members' Bill calling for the introduction of safe standing areas was blocked in the House of Commons, De Quidt reacted by saying: "Safe standing areas are a fancy term for old fashioned terracing. The two are the same.

"Germany is the only country in Europe with significant areas set aside for standing but those grounds would not pass British safety standards, that's for sure."

But Oliver Houston, of SAFE, added: "Not only was De Quidt speaking out of turn, he's also completely disregarded the findings of his own FLA report on safe standing areas in Germany.

"Last February, the FLA looked at the safe standing areas at Hamburg before concluding: 'This system could, with modifications, comply with the safety standards required in England'."