Earlier this month, it was revealed that Coventry City had set a price of £45 for West Brom fans for the upcoming Midlands Derby between the Sky Blues and Baggies, and the same for Swansea City fans for the club's Boxing Day fixture.
The decision to price tickets as high as this sparked fury online, with many supporters labelling the club's Chairman, Doug King, as out of touch with working-class supporters.
Now, the Coventry City Chairman has bit back.
Doug King defends £45 tickets
Speaking about the decision to charge away fans £45 for these two matches, King told the BBC:
“We think local derbies are great experiences – Leicester, Birmingham, West Bromwich Albion, we think our local derby partners are big games. Boxing Day is a critical game and has a lot of history. We always have a huge turnout, and we need to optimise where we can optimise.”
The fact that all EFL clubs are free to charge away fans what they like is part of the problem, especially when there is a cap of £30 on all Premier League away tickets. However, for King, this is a false equivalence. He said:
“People say the Premier League is capped at £30 but I say, ‘Yeah, but the Premier League has got £120m broadcast revenue and I've got a pittance'. We're not printing money in the Championship.”
Concession tickets are also impacted
It is also worth remembering that the £45 price point is just for adult tickets. King has also introduced a hike for youth and senior tickets for the aforementioned matches.
Senior supporters will have to pay £40 for the privilege of watching their team at the CBS Arena, while children will have to pay £35. A parent and child attending either of these matches will therefore cost £80, something that many people feel is far too high for a Championship match.
King is steadfast, though, and has effectively said that ticket prices will even out throughout the season. He explained:
“When we need to discount and get people there on a cold midweek game in January, we'll do the same.”
FGG says: A tone deaf interview
If you can justify charging £45 for an adult ticket and £35 for a child's ticket for a match in a stadium on the hard shoulder of the M6, then you perhaps need to be brought back down to earth. It's far too expensive for a football match in the Championship, and there is nothing King can say to change that.