Manchester City fans take legal action against club over season-ticket policy
Manchester City supporters have taken legal action against the club over what they describe as a discriminatory new season-ticket policy. The protest relates to a system that requires fans to attend at least 10 league matches if they are to retain their ticket for the following season.
A group of fans known as the Trade Union Blues, whose members are union members, have engaged the law firm Leigh Day to ask the club to review the policy, arguing that the requirement 'potentially gives rise to claims under the Equality Act of 2010'.
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The secretary of Trade Union Blues, Chris Neville, said: 'This policy doesn't reward loyalty – it punishes people for being human. Illness, pregnancy, disability, caring responsibilities or working shifts [could] now cost you your season ticket. Many of our members have followed City through thick and thin and now face exclusion because of inflexible criteria that takes no account of individual circumstances.'
The policy was announced by City last month, after season-ticket prices were frozen following consultation with the club's elected fan advisory board, City Matters. It increased the obligatory number of home league matches a season-ticket holder must attend from 14 to 16, but also mandated that only six of those games could be shared with friends or handed back to the club for resale.
City believe that ticket utilisation is a growing issue for the club, having told City Matters in February that an average 8% of 37,000 season-ticket members do not attend a given Premier League game. Liverpool and Arsenal have mandatory attendance requirements for season-ticket holders, but neither cap the number of games that can be shared or resold. Arsenal exempt season-ticket holders with disabilities from the cap.
Ryan Bradshaw, human rights partner at Leigh Day, said: 'The updated policy introduced by Manchester City applies a blanket requirement for personal attendance which significantly disadvantages a number of protected groups under the Equality Act. There is no indication that any meaningful mitigation procedures are in place. It disadvantages those working-class fans who are required to work shift patterns or precariously and may be unable to attend games for fear of losing their jobs.' City did not respond to a request for comment.
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