The Saturday game between Liverpool and Sunderland bore witness to some 10,000 fans walking out of Anfield in the 77th minute to protest the club’s exorbitant new ticket prices, and this may have sparked off a larger series of protests.
The Football Supporters Federation (FSF) has announced that it will be mobilising fan groups of all 20 top tier English football clubs and organising a meeting to be held this week or next. The purpose of the meeting will be to carry forward the wave of protest surrounding the expensive pricing of Premier League tickets, after the 77th minute walkout during the Liverpool-Sunderland match saw a quarter of the Reds fans leave Anfield.
The FSF will be discussing some form of coordinated action by all the fans after the historic night at Anfield, which could include a mass walkout in stadiums across the country.
As per reports in The Telegraph, Kevin Miles, the FSF chief executive, said: “The FSF will be convening a meeting of representatives of supporters’ organisations across the Premier League to discuss the next steps in the campaign. There are a number of options. The Liverpool walkout very successfully highlighted the whole issue of the affordability of football and the clubs need to be made to listen.”
Enough is enough, shout the fans
The prices for tickets have been rising exponentially in the Premier League era, with clubs like Arsenal and West Ham United almost nearing the 100 pound mark for their most expensive tickets. This comes after TV deals and corporate sponsorship in the new millennium that should have rationally eased the financial burden off fans watching games live.
Instead, the rising costs of wages, player transfers, new stadiums and a plethora of other needs have driven Premier League clubs to try and squeeze out every penny from their faithful fans. The new TV deal will see a huge influx of cash into the club, but managers are already saying that it will not lead to a fall in ticket prices.