Manchester United have been accused of raising away ticket prices ahead of their FA Cup fifth-round tie against Fulham.
The Fulham Supporters’ Trust have described the decision to sell adult away tickets for the Old Trafford cup tie at between £51 to £61 as “callous”, with away tickets capped at £30 for Premier League matches.
The same decision was made ahead of Leicester’s visit to Old Trafford for their fourth-round defeat earlier this month, while Fulham supporters have called on their club to subsidise tickets at £30.
The Fulham Supporters’ Trust addressed the cost of tickets in a letter to the club chief executive Alistair Mackintosh estimating that subsiding tickets would amount to “around £60,000”, with the gate receipts shared for the FA Cup match.
“Despite the game being on television with a resulting cash windfall for both clubs, it appears loyal legacy supporters simply do not matter to the hierarchy of the modern-day game,” the Fulham Supporters’ Trust wrote.
“Manchester United FC have regrettably and callously set the price significantly above the usual Premier League away game price cap of £30 per ticket.
“Given the pricing decision was taken exclusively by executives at Manchester United FC and not Fulham FC, we hoped you might consider a gesture towards our fans to demonstrate you understand the lengths they go to when supporting their club.”
Manchester United’s finances are reportedly tight, with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe considering a fresh spell of redundancies and cost-cutting after sacking 250 staff last year.
United supporters staged a protest outside Old Trafford earlier this season after the club announced “offensive” plans to remove concession prices.
The move saw ticket costs for members rise to £66 and was criticised by supporters’ groups, with the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) warning that it may lead to a “significant price rise” for next season.
