Fans of Manchester United and Liverpool joined forces last weekend to protest against rising ticket prices in the English Premier League.
Members of the FC58 and Spirit of Shankly (SOS) supporters’ groups met outside of Anfield prior to the two teams’ league fixture on Sunday (January 5) to unfurl banners expressing concerns for the high cost of tickets.
One banner read: “£66 [crossed out] your debt not ours”, which was aimed at Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United’s decision in November to scrap members’ concessions tickets of £40 ($50/€48) for adults and £25 for children for the rest of the season.
“The amount that will raise is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, yet the damage it is doing is alarming,” FC58 head of media Steve Crompton told The Guardian.
“We’ve been told by the club on a few occasions that it is all about our local fans and we are the beating heart of the club, then they slap you with a £66 ticket. That’s a [164%] increase for kids. It’s an absolute disgrace.”
The Football Supporters’ Association’s #StopExploitingLoyalty campaign was also represented outside of the ground.
The initiative is not just about the two rivals but the whole league.
Just one Premier League side, Crystal Palace, chose not to increase ticket prices for this season as there was an average increase of 6.7%.
Critics state that gate receipts have a minor impact on club finances but are extremely dear to the fans. And given television income, it is argued that ticket price rises are unnecessary.
The next Premier League broadcast deal is set to rise by 17% to £12.25bn for the 2025-28 cycle.
“We conducted a survey of our members last year to ask if we should be campaigning for lower ticket prices and 92.1% said yes,” Paul Khan, chair of SOS and a member of Liverpool’s supporters board told The Guardian.
“That gave me a mandate to approach the club, but when I did, the club told me tickets were going up 2% and that was it. There was no consultation at all. Turnover is £600m. The extra £2m is a drop in the ocean.”
Liverpool club officials are due to discuss next season’s ticket prices with their supporters board on January 20 and have promised “meaningful engagement”.
The FSA campaign is set to continue as it aims to involve more supporters’ groups and generate the kind of pressure that resulted in the £30 cap on away tickets in the Premier League.
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