Posted on 14th May 2010
Back in September the Lionesses faced Luxembourg at Stoke City and waltzed to a 10-0 win, which didn’t really surprise anyone given their status as newly-crowned European champions.
Posted on 14th May 2010
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
One voice can really make a massive difference and so it proved back in March when Ernie, a Doncaster Rovers fan, got in touch with us to complain that he and his fellow fans had been overcharged for their match tickets at Sheffield Wednesday.
Ernie’s sharp eye alerted FSF ticketing rep Alan Bloore to the problem and thousands of fans are now in line for refunds thanks to their work.
Wednesday had introduced a new pricing structure mid-season reducing the cost of tickets for home fans. However, due to this discount away fans were actually being charged more than home fans. In Ernie’s case this was £23 as opposed to the £17 that home fans in the Kop were paying. Which is pretty harsh as it costs enough to follow your team anyway, neither petrol or rail tickets come cheap, without knowing you’re paying extra admission for the privilege.
Now reduced ticket prices are all very commendable, we’re all for more affordable match tickets after all, but in the process the Yorkshire club were actually breaking the Football League’s own rules as ticket pricing plans must be implemented before June 30th. Wednesday didn’t bring in this discount until mid-December, therefore they had to offer these new prices to away fans too.
As well as alerting the FSF to the problem Ernie also emailed all the other clubs who had played, or were due to play, at Hillsborough explaining how they were entitled to the reduced admission. Fans across the country – from Newcastle to Peterborough – were saved money as a result. Top work.
So if you’ve visited Hillsborough as an away fan in the league this season it’s worth checking with your club to see if you’re entitled to a discount. See below for a list of clubs that have played at Hillsborough in the league since Boxing Day 2009:
This isn’t the first time the FSF has heard of complaints like this (we’ve previously won money back for Chelsea and West Ham fans when concessionary prices weren’t passed on) and it probably won’t be the last. So what can you do if you find you’re being charged more than home fans?
There’s no guarantee that clubs will refund fans but the more pressure brought to bear by you and your fellow fans, the better chance you have of winning your money back and making sure fellow fans don’t get ripped off in the future.
JOIN THE FSF FOR FREE TODAY AND GET YOUR COPY OF OUR MAGAZINE!
Back in September the Lionesses faced Luxembourg at Stoke City and waltzed to a 10-0 win, which didn’t really surprise anyone given their status as newly-crowned European champions.
FIFA are being urged to refund tickets for the World Cup as many fans still wait on hundreds of dollars back for their returned tickets.
Supporter groups at Leeds United and Huddersfield Town are calling on the EFL to implement a league-wide cap on away ticket prices.
Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship Clubs have unanimously agreed to proceed with the formation of a new independent body – called NewCo – to run the women’s professional game in England.