London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has accepted more free football tickets to see his favourite football team.
But his appearance at Wembley stadium, to watch the Carabou Cup final on March 16, ended in disappointment – with Liverpool defeated 2-1 by Newcastle.
The mayor was gifted two tickets, each worth £275, by the Football Association. Sir Sadiq has declared the tickets in the City Hall register of gifts, saying the reason he accepted the tickets was for “stakeholder engagement”.
But it comes amid ongoing controversy about politicians accepting free gifts.
Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said on Tuesday that it was “not appropriate” to accept free tickets for concerts at The O2, which sits within his Greenwich and Woolwich constituency.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced criticism for accepting two tickets to a Sabrina Carpenter gig at The O2 earlier this year.
Mr Pennycook, asked on LBC about the issue, said: “I don't personally think it's appropriate. If I want to go to a concert at The O2, I'll pay for it. But individual MPs, individual ministers, make their own decisions.”
The Labour MP added: “I think the important thing is that everything is declared and above board, so individual people can make their choices as to whether they think it's appropriate to take tickets on occasions. I personally haven't done, as I said, at The O2 and wouldn't do.”
Sir Sadiq, a Liverpool fan, has accepted tickets to see his favourite club on four occasions this season.
The other matches he attended were Liverpool v Bournemouth in September, as a guest of Liverpool FC – while he was in Liverpool for the Labour party conference - Spurs v Liverpool in December (two tickets each worth £575) and Brentford v Liverpool in January, all of which ended in victory for the Reds.
Khan the Reds win the league? London mayor @SadiqKhan revealed as Liverpool’s lucky mascot…
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) January 29, 2025
This season he’s accepted freebie tickets to:
Liverpool v Bournemouth 3-0
Spurs v Liverpool 3-6
Brentford v Liverpool 0-2 pic.twitter.com/ea6TsyCYDw
He also attended a Fulham v Aston Villa match last October. The ticket was worth £1,500 and his attendance was an “official engagement to visit the new Riverside stand development, a world-class riverfront sports, culture and hospitality destination”.
He has been asked repeatedly about accepting gifts since a row broke out last summer about his attendance at a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley stadium.
He says all gifts are declared on the City Hall register of interests and he regards the events as part of his job “banging the drum” for the capital’s entertainment industry.
Emma Best, deputy leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: “Sir Sadiq has enjoyed over £100k worth of freebies so far as mayor of London.
“Perhaps he'd do well to listen to his Parliamentary colleagues and consider whether accepting these tickets whilst telling Londoners to expect council tax rises, police cuts, and crumbling infrastructure smacks a little of 'Let them eat cake'.
“Does he really think Londoners believe all of these gifts were necessary to accept?"
The VIP tickets also enable Sir Sadiq, who requires round-the-clock police protection, to remain safe while attending public events.
An investigation by the City Hall watchdog is ongoing into whether Sir Sadiq “exercised an appropriate level of caution” before accepting £3,000 of free tickets to one of the pop superstar’s gigs from a private firm that has been awarded City Hall contracts.
Sir Sadiq also attended the Carabou Cup final in 2024, when Liverpool won the trophy after defeating Chelsea 1-0.
