Soccer: Man. United's Old Trafford grounds to stay open

Local councillors have provisionally dropped a threat to close parts of Manchester United's Old Trafford ground over safety concerns.

Trafford Council had insisted that sections of the all-seater stadium could be closed for the English premier league club's forthcoming Champions League quarter-final tie unless supporters stopped standing up during games.

Before United's win over Austria's Sturm Graz this week, manager Alex Ferguson made an unprecedented plea to the 66,404 supporters at Old Trafford to stay seated.

The situation led to a humorous moment in the match when fans sang for Ferguson to sit down after he was spotted standing in his dugout.