Ewan Murray: SPFL ‘no longer care’ about fans after Rangers v Aberdeen decision made
The SPFL “no longer care” about supporters after issuing Rangers with more tickets than Viaplay Cup final opponents Aberdeen, according to journalist Ewan Murray.
The governing body announced in a statement on Wednesday (8 November) that Rangers will receive 25,000 tickets for the 17 December showdown, compared to 19,500 tickets for Aberdeen.
In the view of The Guardian reporter Murray, it should have been a 50-50 split at Hampden Park in terms of the ticket allocation.
Murray posted on his personal Twitter page [8 November]: “Giving one team the full north stand at Hampden is a competitive and optical advantage. “Know your place, Aberdeen…”
“It’s quite something that the authorities no longer care about what the basis of a neutral venue for a cup final should be.”
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson also gave his opinion on the matter in a press conference, as per the Daily Record [8 November], saying: “The club were right to get as many tickets as they could and rightly so.
“We want to have as many fans as possible there so it is difficult that they’ve not split the gate. Hopefully we will fill our allocation when it comes around because the fans are outstanding.”
The bottom line
Had the shoe been on the other foot, Rangers supporters would of course be crying foul right now.
For example, had Eintracht Frankfurt been given 5,000 additional tickets for last year’s Europa League final, the complaints would have been loud and clear.
The bottom line in this instance, though, is that the Gers will have no trouble selling out their allocation, as they have showed countless times down the years.
That is not to say Aberdeen would have failed to sell that number, but the SPFL made clear in its statement that this decision is based on past ticket sales in the competition.
Exactly how much of an advantage this will be for Rangers is another matter entirely. If an Aberdeen player fails to convert a one-on-one, say, that is not down to the the Gers having 5,000 extra fans in the ground.
With six weeks or so still to go until the final, we can no doubt expect this topic of conversation to continue for a while longer yet.
In other Rangers news, an opposition player has taken a swipe at a multi-million-pound Gers signing.