Football fans are quite tribal by nature, something which has been exacerbated by the prominence of social media platforms which have given rise to already heated rivalries becoming even more toxic.
Away from the incessant mud-slinging that you won’t have to look too far to find on the Elon Musk-owned platform which shares its name with the 24th letter of the alphabet, though, there are certain issues which can instil a rare sense of unity between rival supporters.
The price of football tickets has been a delicate issue among fans of numerous Premier League clubs in recent months, and we’ve seen a common ground being reached by groups of people who spend most of their time trying to one-up each other.
Fans unite with message of ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’
Prior to Liverpool’s Carabao Cup clash against West Ham in September, supporters of the two teams came together to display a banner which read ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ in a united protest against the ever-increasing cost of attending matches.
It’s not just standard ticket prices which have shot up over the past few years, but also those of concession tickets for younger and elderly fans.
There were similar scenes outside Anfield for the Premier League fixtures against both Manchester clubs over the winter, as the respective sets of supporters literally stood together to decry the mammoth cost of tickets to go and watch their teams in action firsthand.
Spirit of Shankly chairperson Paul Khan revealed (via The Guardian) that the price of his season ticket for Liverpool has risen from £36 in 1983 to £735 for the current campaign. According to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, £36 from 42 years ago equates to £120 in the present day.
Other top-flight clubs in England have also been heavily criticised over their ticket pricing. Man United controversially scrapped concession prices in November, while Aston Villa charged £97 for some seats for Champions League home games.
Indeed, Crystal Palace are the honourable exception as the only Premier League club not to increase the cost of tickets for this season.
Fans are at real risk of being priced out of football
There’s no two ways about it – fans are being gouged for doing what they love, namely going to watch their team in the flesh. The long-held rituals of matchdays home and away are at risk of dying out if supporters can no longer afford to attend games.
How many match-going fans were introduced to this sacred tradition by their parents and continue to abide by it to this very day? What if there comes a point where the modern supporter can’t take their own son or daughter to the game because it’s simply not feasible?
While it’s refreshing to see supporters of rival clubs coming together for a common cause, it’s regrettable that it usually takes something like this – or the odious European Super League – to trigger such unity.
