Yesterday’s Premier League encounter between Arsenal and Manchester City was remarkable for more than the match itself.
At a time when money is tighter than ever for the average person, fans of the defending champions were left appalled at the extortionate £62 they were being asked to pay for admission to the match.
Frustrated by the ever-rising prices many city fans decided it was time to take a stand and the club duly returned 900 of the 3000 tickets allocated to them.
In a sport where even the worst Premier League teams are paid huge sums of money through worldwide TV deals, one might have thought clubs could afford to treat their fans with more respect.
Instead, all profits are put straight back into already bloated wages and transfer fees. With ever improving stadia, fans are being asked to pay more for the “better matchday experience”.
Is this experience, costing anything up to £60 for basic tickets, really any better than what could be bought for £15-20 only 20 years ago?
Clubs know that they have a captive audience – a loyal bunch of supporters who will pay whatever they have to in order to watch their side – and they have exploited it to the full.
Top clubs also know that for every member of the existing hardcore fanbase they alienate through price rises, the Premier League is such a glamorous proposition that there will always be somebody willing to take their place. Indeed, a BBC survey found last year that, depite an average rise of 11.8% on the price of the cheepest adult ticket, 92.6% of available seats were sold last year.
Effectively fans are being held to ransom by the very clubs they support.
This is why the protest by City fans yesterday deserves such respect.
Perhaps surprisingly, Richard Scudamore the Chief Executive of the Premier League offered support to the protesting fans. He told the BBC: “The Man City fans have done exactly what they should do – if they think it’s too much don’t turn up.”
