MC Prussian Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 Man Utd fans plan ticket protest By Matt Slater Manchester United fans are being asked by leaders of a campaign to cut prices at their away games not to buy anything inside Craven Cottage on Saturday. United fans are being charged £45 by Fulham for their visit to London while Manchester City fans paid only £25. But the Old Trafford club's supporters, used to being "ripped off" by other teams, have decided enough is enough. Protest organiser Pete Boyle said: "We are not picking on Fulham, it happens everywhere and we're fed up with it." Boyle wants fans to refrain from buying food, drink, programmes or any other merchandise in the ground. The protest's objectives have been posted on Manchester United websites and leaflets will be distributed before kick-off. "If a few thousand Reds don't buy a thing or place any bets maybe we can persuade Fulham to reduce their prices to a reasonable level next season," said Boyle, who attended his first United game in 1977. The key point here is that rich football club does not equal rich football supporters Malcolm Clarke Football Supporters' Federation "The team we support might be wealthy but it doesn't mean all Manchester United fans are. "We have to pay inflated prices everywhere. If other clubs cannot fill their grounds with their own fans it's not down to us to balance their books." Away tickets for this fixture cost £32 last season and £25 the season before. Boyle, who was ejected from Birmingham City's St Andrews in 2004 for staging a similar protest, stressed that this would be a peaceful boycott. He added that Fulham were no more guilty of "fleecing" United fans than many other clubs and pointed out that earlier this season Blackburn charged Bolton fans £15 - for a "proper local derby" - but United fans had to pay £36. A spokesperson for Fulham told BBC Sport: "We set out our ticketing policy at the beginning of the season and made it clear that for Grade A+ matches tickets for home and away supporters in comparable sections of the ground will be £45 for adults, £30 for over-65s and 17-21s and £20 for under-17s." Fulham's games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United fall into the Grade A+ category at Craven Cottage this season. The Cottagers have sold 95.5% of their seats and averaged 21,604 fans a game at home fixtures this season; Manchester United average league-leading figures of 99.4% and 75,793. The Fulham spokesperson added: "Away supporters at Craven Cottage are charged the lowest price band in the stadium. Fulham have complied with the (FA Premier League) rules concerning equality when charging home and away fans." But Malcolm Clarke, the chairman of the Football Supporters' Federation, was unimpressed with Fulham's explanation. "Simply stating that the raised prices are because the match is a higher category game is not excusing the rise - it is just describing the crime," said Clarke. "The key point here is that rich football club does not equal rich football supporters. The Manchester United fans feel very aggrieved about being repeatedly ripped off, and understandably so. They are hit with these prices every time." The FSF, a national supporters' organisation of more than 130,000 fans from clubs at every level of the game, is campaigning for a universal away ticket price of £15 for all Premiership games with £10 for concessions. It's not a hardship to go without food or drink for a couple of hours but it is a hardship to pay these outrageous prices at every away game Man Utd fan Pete Boyle "The new (media rights) money coming into the Premier League from next season is worth around £30 per admission over three seasons," he said. "They could afford to let fans in for nothing and still be as well off as they are today." Clarke dismissed suggestions that extra policing or stewarding was the prime reason behind the category system. "Fulham have not raised the prices for this game to cover their police costs. But if they are claiming that then they should tell us what that cost is," he said. "In fact, the most common defence (for different price categories) we are given is that it transfers money from the rich clubs to the poor ones. "If that is really the case then they should alter the way television money is distributed in the Premier League. They should spread the money out better, not punish supporters." Boyle is uncertain how successful Saturday's protest will be but claims his conscience will be clearer for having tried to do something to tackle runaway prices. "I expect some United fans will take advantage of the shorter queues at half-time to get a pie and a cup of tea but at least I will have tried," he said. "We're just trying to make a point. It's not a hardship to go without food or drink for a couple of hours but it is a hardship to pay these outrageous prices at every away game." Story from BBC SPORT: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi...all/6380273.stm Published: 2007/02/23 10:27:46 GMT © BBC MMVII
Geo V Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 I dont see what the problem is, just think of all the cash in train fares that they`ll be saving from London to Machester. They all live down here anyway!!!
Maybes Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 I dont see what the problem is, just think of all the cash in train fares that they`ll be saving from London to Machester. They all live down here anyway!!! . £45 what a rip - off. I would never pay that for 90 minutes of football. Im glad he is trying to do something about it.
JoeyB Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 i actually find it quite ridiculous, just because man utd are a rich team dosent mean there fans are rich, i mean if Fulham were charged £45 to get into an away game i bet they'd get 1,000 supporters. i am quite pleased man utd fans are going to do something about it because its getting rediculos
Dr The Singh Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 As posted in other threads, for me it's better value to take my family to the cinema, day out to the zoo then it is to watch footy!!
Simi Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 That is a disgrace. £45 is massive for 90 minutes. I hope they get that reducded because that is unfair seen as they charged Man City £25
Simon Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 Fulham ticket prices have always been over inflated but this takes the biscuit! Glad they're making a stand.
vanfox12 Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 i actually find it quite ridiculous, just because man utd are a rich team dosent mean there fans are rich, i mean if Fulham were charged £45 to get into an away game i bet they'd get 1,000 supporters. i am quite pleased man utd fans are going to do something about it because its getting rediculos Love em or hate em you've got to admit that Man Utd fans are leading the way on most issues compared to other clubs.
Jordan Posted 23 February 2007 Posted 23 February 2007 £45 is ridiculous--and a simple web search shows that Fulham usually charge £40 for away fans for the most popular matches, so they're even going above that exorbitant price.
lcfc_jme Posted 24 February 2007 Posted 24 February 2007 That is mental. 45 quid to watch United play against the Mighty Fulham?! Behave. I'm glad the United fans are making a stand - hopefully it'll have some sort of impact. Though Fulham charge highly for most things I think. A VERY SMALL bottle of warm-ish beer at their place was near 4 quid. Poor.
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