Fulham hoped to cash in on Leeds United tickets for FA Cup clash
Fulham hoped to “cash in” on the dedicated travelling support of Leeds United by charging £40 per ticket for the FA Cup fifth-round tie – four times more than Leicester City’s asking price of Blackburn Rovers.
Javi Gracia will look to continue his winning start to life as manager at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night (28 February) after edging out fellow relegation rivals Southampton 1-0 in his first game in charge at Elland Road.
The Whites’ new manager has previous success in the domestic cup – having led Watford to the final in 2019 – but is set to be without over 15% of their allocated support due to the extortionate prices Fulham has asked for, according to the Daily Mirror (Tuesday 28 February, page 46).
Fulham are set to regret this decision due to both sets of fans having to pay the same price for their tickets, with over 7,000 seats yet to be sold for the FA Cup clash.
The report said: “Marco Silva fears Fulham may regret the pricing policy that means Craven Cottage will be less than three-quarters full tonight.
“The club had hoped to cash in on Leeds’ huge travelling support by charging £40 for away tickets – four times more than Leicester are asking of Blackburn fans.
“FA rules state that home fans must pay the same as the visitors. Leeds still have 1,000 of their 6,000-plus allocation left and barely 18,000 tickets in all have been sold. The stadium holds 25,700 fans.”
Shocking
The prices Fulham has asked for cannot really be excused when comparing them to the modest price of fellow Premier League side Leicester City.
If the Cottagers hoped to take advantage of the club’s fabulous fanbase, they have been mistaken, with the London club not even set to fill out their 25,700-capacity stadium. It is a shame this has happened, as the fifth-round tie is expected to be a close-fought and exciting encounter.
Silva’s side have been in sumptuous form so far this season and only sit two points off Newcastle in fifth place, with 14 matches of the season remaining. If Gracia can take his side down to Fulham and come away with a spot in the quarter-final draw, it will be a job well done.
Any result will be a tough ask due to the differing fortunes of the two clubs this campaign, but Gracia can continue his new manager bounce by nicking a result on the road – even if it isn’t in front of the travelling support he hoped.
In other Leeds United news, one of Gracia’s key decisions in his first game shocked a Sky Sports pundit, but it worked.
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