The websites of the England’s 20 Premiership football clubs are failing to meet minimum accessibility standards, effectively barring millions of disabled people, and potentially breaking the Disability Discrimination Act.
The findings are from a survey published by national computing and disability charity AbilityNet, and are broadly in line with findings from earlier surveys into websites operated by leading airlines, newspapers, banks and supermarkets
The 20 sites were audited and checked for accessibility using a series of both manual and automated tools. But not one of them satisfied the criteria required to facilitate access for users with visual impairment, dyslexia or those with a physical disability making mouse use difficult.
The report reveals that only Manchester United’s alternative ‘accessible’ website achieved more than a one-star rating. However it still fell short of the minimum required to achieve what AbilityNet considers to be a basic level of accessibility.
“It is illegal to bar disabled visitors from online services offered to the general public,” said Robin Christopherson of AbilityNet.
“While no organisation would knowingly impose a ‘technological lock-out’ on their disabled customers, it is clear that there is still much scope for improvement,” he said.
