Row breaks out before Brentford v Barnet replay
A row has broken out prior to the Brentford v Barnet FA Cup replay over Barnet’s ticket allocation. Under FA rules Barnet are entitled to a minimum of 15% of tickets available.
Unfortunately Brentford have only given Barnet 1,500 tickets whereas they are entitled to around 2,000. Brentford have given the ghastly mantra of “Health & Safety” as the reason for failing to fulfil their obligation.
Furthermore the Brentford chairman is also chair of the FA’s FA Cup committee. Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous has written a very strong piece on barnetfc.com which is worth reading. He also references the dive by Ollie Watkins in the first leg which won Brentford a ridiculous penalty.
The only thing that stops clubs running amok in football are rules & regulations. But when these are flouted it creates a nasty taste. Hopefully Barnet can send Brentford packing on Tuesday evening. Unlikely, but it is the greatest domestic cup competition in the world.
Comments
An excellent piece of reading and I certainly applaud the gesture by their board to allocate their board tickets to the WAGS and boycott the Brentford board. Another example of the bigger clubs trampling on the minor clubs and the FA urinating on the traditions, of what is supposed to be the greatest cup competition in the world. I'm afraid that under FA tenure, the FA cup will dilute down to whatever the League Cup is now called until it becomes as meaningless as the Chuckle Trade. Dark days loom I'm afraid.
Barnets average attendance is so low that the regulars should all get in if its sensibly distributed but agree Its not ok for them to just disregard it.
If a club's ground can't accommodate giving the 15% mandated they shouldn't be allowed in the tournament. Its ok apparently to deny promotions for grounds not being up to scratch. How much work can be involved here? Give them a whole stand if you can't segregate properly.
This sort of thing happens a few times every season though doesn't it.
And it's always the "H&S" reasoning, when really it's just a team has drawn a big club, and for once can actually sell more tickets to their own fans.
Didn't we get less than 10% for the Spurs game? If that's so, I think the building work was part of the reasoning given.
@HCblue From memory we were originally allocated around 2,800 tickets at White Hart Lane but after further discussions it was increased to just over 4,000. Had the tickets been available I think we could have taken 8-10,000.
Regarding Brentford, I’ve always had a soft spot for the club. But this episode is poor & totally unnecessary. I doubt whether more than 5/6,000 home fans will turn up, so more Barnet fans could be accommodated along the stand opposite their Main Stand. Barnet could probably sell 4,000 tickets, as there’s a lot of interest from fans who follow both Spurs & Barnet. Creating a problem & losing revenue is not the way to go.
WWFC have been very accommodating to Sunderland, giving them 2,700 tickets when in fact we only need give them 950. They only got just over 1,000 at Luton - the same as we’ve got next Saturday. This is something that shows WWFC in a very good light.
Ta.
I don't imagine it's an entirely altruistic move on our part to give Sunderland the extra tickets!
we are skint that's why we have done it and will probably do the same with Portsmouth.
@HCblue @rmjlondon As long as the segregation aspect isn’t compromised it is ludicrous to have empty seats in a stadium when there are people desperate to pay for them!
Presumably h&s wasn’t an issue in the last round when Brentford hosted Oxford. The visitors got their full entitlement. This is fom their website -
Oxford United fans will be housed in the Brook Road Stand behind the goal, which comprises a shallow covered terrace for 1,050 supporters and 550 covered seats in the upper tier.
@Doob If this is what they got it’s (again) below their full entitlement. I’m surprised a club like Brentford doesn’t want to maximise their revenue - given their whole ethos is based on Moneyball.
Just like the Villa cup tie, we want to make sure we sell tickets rather than maybe get a casual punter into the home areas.
As a Brentford fan I am disappointed that this row has blown up ahead of tomorrow's tie particularly after the efforts of both teams in the first match to make it the tie of the round. I would be happy to see as many Barnet fans that can fit in Griffin Park, however I think your chairman is misleading you on the rules of away allocations. I have checked the website for the FA Cup and it states a maximum of 15 % which is subject to the local safety group which includes the police etc. Now GP is set up to accommodate away supporters in the whole of the Brook Road stand a total of around 1500, which I believe is the allocation given. Since 2014 no away allocation has been permitted beyond that which would be the Safety Group ruling. When our new ground is finished in just over a year I am sure we will be able to offer the maximum allocation then. Now let's concentrate on the football chaps and may the best team win tomorrow evening!
Wrong forum?
@daywalker, you want the Barnet forum, down the road and left at the lights.
Our chairman wouldn’t mislead anyone about anything
Our chairman won't be there tonight, he's doing overtime in the ice cream factory
The question of segregation is another issue entirly, buI I remember stading next to visiting fans at Loakes Park with no bother. What's happned to society and football supporters in particular.?
Quite. I'm pretty sure that 98% of the nonsensically abusive words and gestures one sees on the terrace from the brave heroes on both sides of the divide would never happen were fans positioned among each other.
To be clear, now that I see @A_Worboys's earlier reply to me, I'm perfectly content with the arrangement, feeling exactly as you do, given that we would not sell the seats ourselves. I was just lightheartedly suggesting our motivation was driven by financial imperatives that, while perfectly reasonable, don't necessarily entitle us to extra credit. I imagine Luton, for example, could fill their crowd for the Sunderland game without needing to allocate extra seats to away fans.
Completely agree with this. It shames football that fans of different clubs cannot be trusted to stand/sit next to one another without violence occurring
see also: drinking in the same pub, getting off the train at the same station, walking down the same street etc
I think most could, but as in plenty of other segments of society there are utter fucknuts who lack the emotional intelligence to behave in a civilised manner.
Indeed....It's nice when you can say well I never expected that from some sudden act of unexpected kindness or good sportsmanship...but never over-estimate the human being. I recall going to a Forest match at Fulham and was making my way to Craven Cottage when an away fan a well dressed middle aged man...for no good reason...stood in front of an asian woman and her child and shouted 'P! P! P***! at them before walking on. Someone did shout after him, but everyone was too shocked to do anything before he had gone (years before a copper would have been in the slightest interested...) and though there were lots of apologies the look on her terrified face surrounded even by all the well meaning fans was haunting. I suspect it was a good thing he was not amongst the Fulham fans...as @MindlessDrugHoover says....fucknuts.
On the flip side to that story @Wendoverman. I remember our 1st season in the FL, we played Orient away in the League cup circa August. I travelled by car to the match with wifey + 2. Walking to the stadium I felt a hand land on my shoulder and what was clearly a local said "'scuse me mate, but r u a Wycombe suppora?". I immediately had to clench my rear end to stop the inevitable fall out, my wife said I went ashen. When I gave an honest answer and braced myself for the imminent removal of my teeth, he extended his hand and congratulated WWFC for the previous seasons' promotion! I've had a soft spot for the O's ever since.
I spoke to a lot of Orient fans after we beat them 2-0 the year they went down the Conference. They all seemed absolutely lovely, were incredibly grateful for the support we showed them during the 90 minutes, and I felt desperately sorry for them.
I've followed their results closely every since and really hope they win return to the league this year.
as I used to live in Walthamstow I have a soft spot for the O's also as I used to amble down there now and again...yet another victim of a mentally deranged owner.