There are few issues that can unite football supporters from Manchester and Merseyside, but greedy Premier League clubs have managed to find one.
If the bleak empty stadiums during the Covid pandemic taught us anything, it is that the presence of fans should be sacrosanct. Yet, amid the squeezing of every last penny out of the game, supporters are collateral damage — and they have had enough.
Manchester United caused outrage last week after scrapping concessions for children and pensioners, while raising matchday ticket prices to a minimum of £66. Tottenham, who earn close to £6million in matchday revenue per game, will stop selling new senior concession season tickets next season.
At West Ham, concession season tickets for Under 18s, Under 21s and Over 66s have been restricted to a small area towards the back of the London Stadium.
Now there are fears that it is only a matter of time before other clubs follow suit — and that prospect led to Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and United fans joining forces on Sunday.
A few hundred United followers gathered in front of Old Trafford’s United Trinity statue in support of a Football Supporters’ Association campaign. They held up a ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ banner, along with some Everton fans, before the teams faced off. They sang ‘£66, you’re taking the p**s’ and let off plumes of red smoke.
Hundreds of Manchester United fans staged a protest before Sunday’s game against Everton
It was sparked by a ticket price hike and fans called on the club to ‘stop exploiting loyalty’
United have scrapped concessions for children and pensioners, while raising ticket prices
Liverpool hosted Manchester City on the same day and banners were displayed there, too.
United fan Martin Feely, 70, who has been going to Old Trafford for 61 years, can no longer afford to take his grandson.
He said: ‘This is totally out of order. I want to bring my grandson, but it’s £66 for him — a nine-year-old. I’ve started to go to FC United with him because I can’t afford to pay. If they’re doing this now without consulting fans, what are they going to do next season? That worries me.’
What makes United’s decision all the more puzzling is that they are attracting the animosity and anger of fans for a miniscule gain.
Take their total revenue in 2022-23: just 21 per cent was from matchday income. That includes ticket prices, food, drink and hospitality. The money gained by ditching concessions is a tiny percentage of what they make.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Mail Sport: ‘Their argument falls down. United say 97 per cent of matchday tickets have already been sold. That leaves three per cent, which is 2,250. Let’s say 20 per cent are going to concessions, that’s 450 tickets. They are charging an extra £30 a ticket, that’s around an extra £16,000 a match, which is peanuts in comparison to the PR look, which is appalling.
‘Ineos know that with such a big, varied fanbase they can sell to a different kind of market. What they are trying to do is nudge up on many different revenue streams. They know the easiest people to target are those with the quietest voices like the disabled, kids and the elderly.’
It follows the club recently hiking the price of disabled parking by 20 per cent. Mail Sport has seen correspondence with one punter in which United’s excuse was that disabled fans want to be treated equally and ‘not as charity cases’.
If 97 per cent of tickets have sold, United will make around £16,000 a match from increase
One banner read: ‘Local lad Sir Jim charges £66 for OAPs + juniors. Stop exploiting loyalty’
But it is not just at United where fans are at their wit’s end. Tottenham have increased their total matchday revenue to £117.6m, the second-highest of Premier League teams for 2022-23. But that has still not been enough to satisfy bosses. They claimed the decision to stop offering concessions for new season-ticket holders came after the number of senior season tickets rose to four times the number at their old White Hart Lane ground, before saying such an increase is ‘not sustainable and will start to limit ticket choice for others’.
Martin Cloake, of fans group Save our Seniors, said: ‘Spurs’ rationale of there being too many season-ticket holders who qualify for the senior concession rate, and that’s not sustainable, basically means “fans are not dying off quickly enough to make the money we need to make”. It’s insulting and crass. Spurs haven’t made a move against junior concessions. I suspect they are going to come for that next.’
Premier League rules state clubs must offer concessionary tickets. But Mail Sport understands some teams have found a loophole by only offering them in a limited area.
Nick Clarke, of Manchester City’s Fans Foodbank Support Group, told Mail Sport last week: ‘The issue is that clubs don’t engage with fans — they treat us like s*** and know we can’t do anything about it as we will keep coming back. They are pricing out generational fans from the communities they are based in. The fact we’re willing to go to our biggest rival (Liverpool) and go in the away end to protest with them is something we haven’t done before. We’re all sick of it.’
Season-ticket prices have also been on the rise for years. 17 Premier League sides hiked their cheapest adult season-ticket this season and, according to SeatPick, the average for 2024-25 is now £594, compared to £297 for Serie A, £225 for La Liga and £179 for the Bundesliga.
Arsenal have the most expensive season ticket in Europe — their cheapest is £1,073, a 10 per cent increase from last season. That at least includes six cup matches, meaning each game costs £42. Tottenham’s cheapest is £856 for 19 Premier League home games, or £45 per match. Most tickets cost far more.
Attracting corporate fans and tourists is more preferable because they spend more. That is damaging the tradition of young people or families going to games.
Cloake added: ‘Clubs are rooted in communities — they mean something to people, they have tradition and history. That tradition of passing on to the next generation in a family is at threat. Families are literally being broken up by this. They can’t go together.’
It is not just at United where fans are frustrated – Tottenham have also increased their matchday revenue
The outrage will rumble on, but fans are at breaking point and have shown they are powerful
Amid the gloom, there is some hope. Arsenal last season proposed scrapping senior concessions, but after meeting the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, they ditched the plan.
An AST spokesman said: ‘The club have increased the number of concessions for children and adults in recent years and introduced a young adults category.
‘Last year Arsenal proposed to remove all senior concessions. Following feedback, they chose not to. It shows good dialogue. If clubs aren’t doing that, they should.’
The outrage will rumble on, but one thing is clear — fans are at breaking point.
