There are no rules laid down anywhere about how much a ticket to see a live football match should cost. It’s one of those ‘whatever the market will bear’ situations, and football clubs always need more money than they’ve got, so it is only to be expected that ticket prices will be as high as the management can set them and still get a sizeable, if not sell out, crowd.
Football fans are a special breed of the species; they have priorities of course, and at the top of those is seeing their team win an exciting and hard-fought match. It just doesn’t get any better than that – as long as they’re seeing this spectacle from a spot in the stadium. TV coverage is great and all, but it’s just not the same as being there. A lot of them are willing to pay the price, but apparently there are limits.
Last week’s events made it clear that maybe the limit on ticket prices is not the sky; maybe it lies somewhere underneath that supposedly limitless height. When Manchester City returned a third of its allocation for the match with Arsenal on Sunday, 912 tickets priced at £62 per, it may have precipitated a groundswell for a change in the rules.
Currently Premier League rules are that ticket prices must be the same for fans from away as they are for the locals. There is quite a controversy on the issue, with the argument that fans dedicated enough to make the journey at their own expense should not be further burdened with higher ticket prices. It’s a fact that without rival fans in the stadium, the levels of tension and excitement are noticeably reduced.
The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) is reportedly working with Supporters Direct, which is representative of rival football fans, to lobby for a price cap of £20 to £25 for away games. FSF president Malcolm Clarke said they would be launching a campaign in the next few weeks aimed at placing a maximum on the amount charged; he said fans have had just about enough.