QPR charging up to £50 for Crystal Palace fans to watch the upcoming game at Loftus Road shows the contempt some clubs have for modern football fans, according to ALISDAIR KEMP...
NEWS of Crystal Palace fans fulfilling the away allocation for the match at QPR stirred a variety of emotions within me – all stemming from the preposterous pricing imposed by those suffering delusions of grandeur at Loftus Road.
First and foremost I was immensely proud of the Palace fanbase for following the team in the face of such abhorrent greed from the West London club. However, I could not help but pity and feel sorry for those that have been forced to part with between £40 and £50 of their hard-earned money, for the undeniable privilege of sitting in a jaded old relic of a stadium lacking legroom and abysmal acoustics.
My emotions then veered somewhat towards frustration at these dedicated fans for simply stumping up the eye-watering sums of cash without question; thereby fuelling the inexcusable greed ubiquitous in modern football – and the inevitable continued inflation of ticket prices.
An avid lover of away days myself, I nevertheless could not ditch my principles and justify the expense of this particular game. Of course some will argue, quite rightly, that a longer trip up north will always overall be more costly because of travel, but the idea of paying directly to a club like QPR 50 pence for every minute of football was just too ghastly to act on.
What is needed is a universal boycott among Eagles fans of games with the most financially audacious and gluttonous tickets. When I first saw the prices for QPR, I was hoping such unified and demonstrative action may be incited but alas the fans' loyalty and commitment in following the team proved just too strong.
The problem is the fat cats at Premier League clubs are fully aware of this dedication when deciding upon ticket prices and shamelessly seek to capitalise upon it.
It is lamentable aspects of Premier League football like the palpable feeling of being permanently ripped off as a fan that lead me to pine once more for Championship football.
Relegation would yield at least one season of cheaper away days and visits to far more characterful stadiums whose atmospheres have not been sanitised by expectation and the pricing out of true, working class fans.
I cannot express enough my respect and admiration for the fans whose loyalties to Crystal Palace enable them to inexplicably hand over such vast sums of money for one away game. However, it is difficult not to feel that an opportunity has been missed here to take a stand against the worrying direction in which football as an entertainment sport is heading.
Until fans agree to boycott matches and hit clubs in the only place it truly hurts – their pockets – club directors with their heads in the clouds will continue to get away with highway robbery in ticket sales.
