Aberdeen chief Alan Burrows apologises as Rangers ticket fiasco for Viaplay Cup final escalates
Aberdeen CEO Alan Burrows has apologised to supporters as the ticket fiasco ahead of the Viaplay Cup final with Rangers escalated further.
The SPFL announced on 8 November that Aberdeen would have 19,500 tickets for the match at Hampden, compared to 25,000 for Rangers.
That led to a backlash, with many arguing it should have been a straight 50-50 split, and there has now been a further fallout.
Aberdeen sold their initial allocation in the space of a few days, but many of those were on general sale by Tuesday afternoon (14 November).
That means many Rangers fans could potentially have helped themselves to tickets, leading to an explanation from Burrows on social media.
“The ticket office set a threshold at 200 points to buy one ticket each then, this afternoon at 5pm, the remainder went on full general sale,” Burrows posted on Twitter [14 November].
“Although it was for the right reasons, in hindsight, this was an error on our part. We should’ve had a second sales period for lesser points before – I.e. 100-199, before full general sale, ensuring there was more control.
“That’s a lesson we’ll learn. I take responsibility for that and I am very sorry to those who are currently feeling frustrated.”
Madness
This seems like a very silly decision from Aberdeen – hindsight or not. The cup final is still a month away, so what was the rush in getting rid of the tickets in one short burst?
Surely, the best option would have been to wait for those most deserving of the tickets – i.e season ticket holders and those who attend the vast majority of games – before working down on a sliding scale?
To put the tickets on general sale just seems like madness, and it now sets up the prospect of trouble brewing in the stands should Gers supporters be in the Aberdeen end.
Aberdeen have argued the demand for tickets shows they should have been handed a larger initial allocation, but that argument does not really stand when tickets were on general sale – anyone could have bought them.
Loyal supporters deserve to be in attendance at Hampden, so let’s just hope they manage to find a fix if they did not get their hands on a ticket.
More importantly, let’s hope the day passes by without any sort of trouble – and with Rangers lifting the trophy aloft come full-time.
In other Rangers news, journalist Chris Jack has issued a “hugely significant” warning as the Gers prepare to appoint a key figure.