Massimo Cellino has asked the League to compensate Leeds for the loss of revenue from having so many TV games, but in retaliation he is going to limit the number of tickets the club sells for our away games.

By the end of the year Leeds will have been selected by Sky for 10 televised games, including the League Cup game at Doncaster (we’re obviously not famous any more). This is because Sky know that Leeds have the biggest nationwide fanbase of any club in the Championship and therefore this will help to sell more subscriptions. All 10 of their most-watched games in the division last season involved Leeds.

Il Presidente has now put out a statement on the club’s official website, claiming the club’s stature is being unfairly “exploited”, claiming that Sky’s compensation payments are not enough to cover the revenue we lose in ticketing, retail and catering. In the Premiership this wouldn’t be a problem, as 25% of the massive TV payments in the big League are distributed one the basis of the number of TV appearances, but the TV deal in the Football League is far less lucrative.

Cellino said “Our loyal Season Ticket Holders are being unfairly penalised by the large amount of fixture changes. They have already paid to attend these games but many are no longer able to and attendances are suffering as a result of this. We cannot just accept for our schedule to be changed with games moved to Thursdays and Sundays. We are a football club and tradition gives us a sense of belonging to our community.”

“We understand the value that Leeds United brings to the Football League, but we should be shown respect for that - we shouldn’t be exploited because of it. We have used the correct channels in appealing to the Football League but the issues remain, so we have no choice but to take strong action to protect the future of Leeds United.”

So far so good, but unfortunately his plan to retaliate against the League will affect some of the very same Leeds fans who he claims to want to protect. “Football League rules state that clubs must make a provision for at least 2,000 away tickets to be sold. Therefore, in line with those requirements, we will be selling no more than 2,000 tickets for each away game from now on.”

“We understand that this means a number of fans will now be unable to attend certain away games, but this is the sacrifice needed to make the Football League take notice - we have to vote with our feet. We are encouraging you, as supporters, to think before purchasing tickets for away matches — our silence, especially away from home, will demonstrate our disappointment.”

This restriction will be most unfair on the same season ticket holders he claims to care about, as well as the non-season ticket holders who paid £35 for a membership for the right to go to away games and may now be unable to get tickets. But the worst affected will be the many Leeds fans who live in other parts of the country, who can’t travel to Leeds that many times during a season and who value the chance to see the team at away games in their local area.

Cellino’s statement continued “At away games our supporters are being taken advantage of because they travel in such large numbers. This unfairly benefits the home clubs, who increase the price of tickets, food and drinks for our fans. But again, the Football League are doing nothing to help us when they should be looking after their members — that is their responsibility to us. As a club we can no longer continue to be exploited like this and we are calling for change.”

Yes, it’s true that other clubs charge higher prices when we visit, as our away games are almost invariably classified as Category A (or equivalent) by the home club. But it’s up to us whether we want to boycott an away game as a result, this shouldn’t be dictated to us by anyone else. And we can always protest about food and drink prices by getting what we need from a pub or takeaway outside the stadium, without missing the game.

And while many fans miss out, another effect of these restrictions will be that those who are still determined to get to Leeds away games will look to get tickets in ‘home’ parts of the stadiums. (Handy hint — this will be easier to do if you get yourself onto the home clubs supporter database well in advance).

We wish Cellino luck in his efforts to get a bigger share of the revenue that the Football League get from Sky, which is only fair if we assume that the FL TV rights are more valuable while Leeds are still one of it’s member clubs. But whatever he does to campaign for this change it shouldn’t penalise the many loyal Leeds fans who want to support our club away from home.

Stop Press: The Leeds United Supporters Trust has just issued it's own statement, opposing this move and calling for the club to refund the membership fees paid by fans who will now struggle to get tickets for away games. Now there's an outbreak of common sense.

Photo: Action Images

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