Supporters groups reacted with anger on Monday as the Premier League finally released their festive fixture schedule, with Arsenal and West Hamfans facing an 8pm kick-off on Boxing Day in their first match after the World Cup.
The top flight fixtures selected for broadcast by Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime Video in December and January were meant to have been released two weeks ago but a partial schedule was only announced yesterday.
Supporters groups from across the Premier League reacted with frustration at many of the picks, with the date and time of fixtures for the whole of January still yet to be announced.
Arsenal and Hammers fans drew the Boxing Day short straw, with the game at the Emirates Stadium moved from 3pm to 8pm, leaving supporters facing a challenge to get home on public transport on a Bank Holiday.
Arsenal’s visit to Brighton on New Year’s Eve was pushed back to 5.30pm while Newcastle’s visit to the Emirates Stadium on January 3 will also be an 8pm kick-off, leaving visiting fans likely to face no trains back to the north east.
Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust said: "Arsenal fans now face late kickoffs on both Boxing Day and New Years Eve. Once again we see a lack of consideration for the match going fan and repeat our call for broadcasters, the Premier League and Arsenal to undertake more consultation with fans before these decisions are taken."
West Ham United Supporters’ Trust tweeted: "14 days late - total disregard says it all. Most expensive time of year, families gathering, plans need to be made - not good enough".
“This is a Scrooge decision that will ruin the Boxing Day plans of many fans,” added a further statement.
“It’s hard enough for Hammers supporters to get to the Arsenal-end of London on a good day but Bank Holiday public transport will make it an impossible late-night choice.
“The decision to move the Arsenal v. West Ham fixture to Boxing Day evening was clearly done without an ounce of consideration for supporters. Many fans will think themselves better off lingering over their cold turkey and pickles.
“Once again the fans who keep this game alive have been ignored.”
In a further blow to match-going fans, most games scheduled for the matchweek commencing January 2 were moved from 3pm on the Bank Holiday Monday to the evenings of Jan 3 and 4 "to protect rest periods between match rounds 18 and 19".
Reacting to yesterday’s announcement, the Football Supporters’ Association posted on Twitter: "Slow hand clap for the Premier League finally getting these out. Most of January games still missing. And no explanation for the delay. No hint of an apology."
The FSA issued an earlier statement reading: "Supporters groups from across the country have expressed their anger at the Premier League and its broadcasters for the latest delay in releasing TV fixtures.
"The TV selections for December and January covering the busy Christmas and New Year periods were due to be published by Oct 11, but at the time of publishing were 13 days late.
"This has meant many fans wanting to book travel to games in the busy December period are potentially losing out on cheaper travel options. Premier League officials have been unable to provide a concrete date or time for the TV fixtures announcement, despite requests from the FSA and various club-specific fan groups."
Manchester United v Bournemouth and Leeds United v West Ham United were among the other games affected, while Tottenham’s game against Brentford on Boxing Day was moved forward to a 12.30pm kick-off.
