Man City fans take club to court over season-ticket policy as club have increased mandatory attendance requirement.
Man City fans have taken legal action against the club over what they say is a discriminatory new season-ticket policy.
The system that requires supporters to attend a minimum of 10 league games in order to keep their ticket for the next season is the subject of the protest.
According to the law firm Leigh Day, a group of union-member fans known as the Trade Union Blues have asked the club to reconsider the policy because they believe it “potentially gives rise to claims under the Equality Act of 2010.”
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.”
After consulting with City Matters, the club’s elected fan advisory council, season ticket prices were fixed, and City revealed the decision last month. The number of home league games that a season ticket holder was required to attend was raised from 14 to 16, but only six of those games could be shared with friends or returned to the club for sale.
Having told City Matters in February that an average of 8% of 37,000 season-ticket holders do not attend a particular Premier League game, City believes that ticket usage is becoming an increasingly significant issue for the team. Season ticket holders of Liverpool and Arsenal are required to attend all games, however neither club has a cap on the quantity of games that can be shared or resold.
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.”