Fulham fans have protested against rising ticket prices at the club ahead of kick-off against Manchester United.
Individual match tickets for the Saturday lunchtime kick-off cost as much as £160 for seats in the Riverside Stand, while overall adult season ticket prices have hiked 18 per cent in the last year and now total as high at £3,000.
Supporters of Fulham marched along Stevenage Road toward Craven Cottage ahead of kick-off. Once inside, they held aloft yellow cards in the 18th minute that read: ‘PLEASE DON’T PRICE US OUT.’
Dan Crawford, editor of the independent supporters’ blog HammyEnd, told Standard Sport: “Fulham are the most egregious example in the top-flight of profiteering. The price of a season ticket has increased by, typically, 18%, from last season for an adult.
…and the mild-mannered second chapter of this protest. Yellow cards which say “Please don’t price us out” are held aloft in the 18th minute, signifying the 18% increase pic.twitter.com/M6qmSNQI9G
— Dom Smith (@MrDomSmith) November 4, 2023
“So we’ll ask ourselves: if Fulham Football Club’s men’s first team 18% better than last season? No, because we sold our main source of goals and we’re yet to replace him adequately. Inside the ground, is my pint going to arrive 18% faster? No. Am I going to be able to use all the facilities 18% more efficiently? No.
“So there’s an issue with the season ticket prices, but the big issue is about season ticket prices. But the big issue is about match ticket prices. Matchday prices for this game ranged for an adult ticket from £67 if you’re lucky to £160. It’s a Premier League record [price].”
Crawford continued: “We lobbied through the Football Supporters’ Association ten years ago for an away ticket pricing cap. There is one. They haven’t closed the loophole, meaning you can only charge away fans £30, but you can charge home fans £160 or more. We have the most expensive non-corporate adult season ticket in the Premier League — £3,000 — in our lovely new Riverside Stand, which still hasn’t been completed yet.
“They do this because they can. They capitalise on the fact we’re paying through the nose through our loyalty because we’re mugs. Fulham fans who are here are standing in solidarity with the many who can’t afford to go anymore.
“Some will take part in the protest and then turn their backs on the team they love, because they can’t afford to go to the game — and that breaks my heart. That may be me next year. I’m not paying 18 per cent again. I’ll still be able to hear how well we’ve done, but not see it.”
Season ticket-holder David Lang recalled: “I started going to Fulham in 1964, when I was eight years old. At that time, I lived in Finlay Street, and the entrance was two shillings for juniors and four shillings for adults, which is 10p and 20p in new money.”
