INEOS abandon Euro away collections due to budgetary issues; fans unhappy

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·11 de noviembre de 2024

INEOS abandon Euro away collections due to budgetary issues; fans unhappy

Omar Berrada was in attendance for the first time, for all of 20 minutes at least, for the latest Fans Forum, which took place on Wednesday the 16th of October, as INEOS followed up an appearance by Joel Glazer, a first-ever in-person, at the Fan Advisory board meeting previous to this FF Meeting on October 6th.

One of the topics discussed was the conscious decision by INEOS to change the landscape around the collection of European away tickets with a valid photo ID in the host city of the fixture, a decision met with much bemusement and downright ire by the fanbase.

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For those of you not well versed on how the European Away Ticket Credit System works, I’ll try to explain as simply as possible:

To obtain a ticket for a Manchester United European away game a fan must enter a ballot for a ticket, this season, which was not the case for the last number of years, when it has been essentially the ‘fastest finger’ on the website when tickets went on sale, in lowering order of how many credits fans had (IE 10am-12pm 4+ Credits can buy, if tickets remain, 12pm – 2pm, 2+ credits, so on, until it either sold out or went to 0 credits being eligible, at which it would sell out) and this wouldn’t have been an issue, given the collections still in place, it would have arguably been an improvement.
Previously, the fan would then visit the hosting city where the away team was based and visit a predetermined venue, usually a hotel conference room United hired for the day, where United staff would be in attendance handing out physical tickets upon the fan producing Photo ID, usually passport, matching the details on file for that fan. You cant game the system or pull the wool over anyones eyes, and as such, by and large the person who’s name was on the ticket was the fan in attendance at the ground during the game, save for a minute few who would fly to the city, collect their ticket and tout it at a fee that covered a free trip on the booze with the away fans. Collecting your ticket this way earned you 1 European Away Credit on your account, and obviously enough, the more you have the more chance you have of securing a ticket if the allocation is not as big as some of the bigger sides we play can allow (rules state in european competitions we must get a minumum of 5% of the capacity of a stadium).
Simply put, this system worked. Nobody had an issue with it as it protected the credit system and it rewarded the loyalty and effort United fans put in to support the team across Europe. As you can imagine, it costs a small fortune, time away from work, family and travelling to some obscure locations, meaning multiple flights etc to achieve this.

So, now that you know why collections are important and repsected, lets look at what INEOS have decided at the FF meeting.

European Away Ticket Collections

Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images

Over recent months, as a club, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our operating costs and prioritisation of critical activities and spend. This has resulted in amendments and reductions to budgets. In addition, as Collette has covered, we have also completed a redundancy programme that has resulted in a reduction in the number of personnel across the club. As a result of these two significant changes, it has been necessary to make some difficult decisions.
Whilst we understand some fans value this service the cost of travel and accommodation for eight ticketing staff, two security staff, hiring a dedicated, conveniently located and accessible collection point is significant and it is not possible to continue at this time. We also need to consider the impact of eight staff being out of the office for three days, along with the pre and post collections work that is required to be undertaken linked to this activity.
The current situation this season is that given this is not a critical activity we no longer have the capacity to send personnel on an away trip into Europe.

So, the club have decided its too expensive…

The following are the minute notes in direct response to the above:

DJ commented on why, as a fair and working system, the club had authorised the removal of ticket collection points at European away fixtures. DJ added reps have been inundated with messages, emails, DMs and calls about this issue. CRu asked the club to confirm what the cost saving is per ticket collection. SK and CR outlined costs to facilitate ticket collection points, and the resource needed onsite. Reps highlighted the decision to remove away ticket collections was communicated without prior fan consultation and at the same time as player contract renewals published in the media. CRu also commented football cost base referred to team performance and not the facilitation of necessary fan measures. The removal of away ticket collections feeds touting behaviours which the club has worked hard to address. CR acknowledged the comments and reiterated that the club is evaluating ways to work smarter across the board. CR invited the forum to engage in an open discussion around suggested alternatives and potential risks. RMc added that distribution of European away tickets needs to protect the integrity of the credit system. The forum referenced processes in place at West Ham whereby tickets are collected by fans and issued in order of collection; whether supporters should show proof of presence within the country; options to replicate domestic away collections; possible sanctions such as loss of credits for ticket cancellations with no genuine reason; feasibility of random collections and ticket checks. The forum agreed a collective response was required and all reps agreed to review and feedback.

DJ – Dips Jandu – FF Rep – ST Holders

Cru – Chris Rumfitt – MUST

CR – Colette Roche – Chief Operating Ofiicer

RMc – Rick McGagh – Director Of Fan Engagement

SK – Sam Kelleher – Director Of Supporter Services

United’s away following is one of the proudest aspects of our fanbase, our domestic away following the envy of many, our European away following unmatched, we could play in Mozambique and it would be sold out, by fans who are willing to travel the ends of the earth to follow the lads, as the old adage goes: “If the reds should play, in Rome or Mandalay, we’ll be there!”

This decision by the club has caused angst amongst the fanbase for multiple reasons, not least the protective nature of credit holders due to the efforts they’ve put in, but it’s also annoyed those on zero credits because its caused an offshoot, probably unplanned, outcome where it has eradicated any chance of these reds now getting on the credits ladder.

Want to know how? It’s rather simple:

Due to not needing to collect your ticket in the host city with ID, and the clubs decision to allow fans who are eligible to purchase a ticket in the ballot (eligible credits wise of course) every single eligible fan will now buy a ticket, because they would be foolish not to and get their credit immaterial of if they’ve travelled or not. Whereas, previously, if you weren’t going to attend, you woudln’t buy a ticket, thus freeing up tickets for those wishing to attend. Many (most) European Away’s have dropped to 0 credits over the past number of years, allowing reds willing to put the effort in, to get their first and subsequent credits.

What this has now led to, is a muddy water of illegitimately obtained credits, which sully’s the efforts aforementioned by travelling reds and, as I write this, we have had 3 ballots taken place, namely FC Porto, Fenerbache and Vitoria Pilzen. If you want a sample size of a mere 3 games, none have dropped to 0 credits. You can be absolutely assured that Fenerbache would have, Porto potentially, Pilzen wouldn’t have due to a 645 allocation (this was before the club raided that allocation for players family and staff tickets, further reducing the pot…)

Whereas previously, the drop to 0 would have allowed some reds get their first credit, and reds on 1-3 credits to step up a level, it has now closed this possibility off, and instead simply pushed anyone on the equivelant eligible credits versus the alloaction granted to simply move up a notch, potentally from the comfort of their sofa, for example see the away end for

Fenerbache, it was half empty. You could not give away tickets for this game, I say this with conviction because I literally had multiple reds approach me to attempt to sell their tickets for them, and eventually give them away, but there weren’t enough travelling reds who took the trek to match the allocated amount of tickets available, which resulted in Turkish and random folk in the away end. This would not have happened with collections.

I’ve spoken to some reds from a variety of backgrounds on this topic and asked them their feelings on certain aspects of this.

Adam Coughlan is a time served red, doesn’t miss a United game, home or away and stands as one of 148 reds on the planet that has the maximum of 11 European Away credits, meaning not one game missed, regardless of location.

As a hardened campaigner on full credits, how do you feel about the removal of collections, given the time, money and effort you’ve put into following the club across every corner of Europe?

Adam: “Firstly it’s very disappointing to see that the one system as a whole the club operates in allocating tickets, that rewards loyalty & recognises the hard yards supporters put in has now been compromised, potentially lost its integrity and more worryingly could be under threat. Since the club announced this decision it has dominated conversations amongst the support with many wondering what the real reason for this decision is & what the ramifications for us all are going forward. Many are wondering if it is simply an incredibly shortsighted cost cutting measure or is it something more sinister such as the first stage in a move towards scrapping the credit system & replicating random ballots like for domestic away games. This would be nothing short of a disaster in my opinion as one of the main benefits of the credit system is that supporters who have put in the hard yards over the years & have accumulated credits from far flung destinations have the peace of mind that they can book travel & arrange leave etc well in advance knowing that they are guaranteed a ticket or at the very least know where they stand in the pecking order of securing a ticket when making travel arrangements. The unintended consequences of executives (with little to no clue of ticketing & fan culture) making these sort of decisions without looking past relatively minuscule financial savings in the grand scheme of things has now created effectively a closed shop, made it harder for younger supporters to get on the credit ladder & created a black market which didn’t exist previously for European games. While we were all unsure & were sceptical of how INEOS would operate and treat us we all had hoped for better then the Glazers. It’s deflating & disappointing while not wholly surprising to see another regime come in take liberties & view the supporters, the heartbeat of the club as a cost as opposed to an asset. This attitude needs to change and fast by not just INEOS & the Glazers but all executives within the game.”

If you’re on social media, specifically twitter, and part of the more in depth interested in the ongoings at the club, you’ll be aware of an account named @OhCheesesOfChrist.

Cheeses is one of the most respected voices on social media when it comes to all aspects of United’s ticketing, specifically European, I spoke to him on this:

What are your feelings on the situation and what damage do you see it doing?

Cheeses: “The Euro away collections system was one of the fairest approaches for fans travelling to watch United, ensuring tickets went to those genuinely attending. With its removal, the process now risks exploitation. Fans with high credits will feel compelled to apply for every game, whether they plan to attend or not, to maintain their credit status—understandable, as not applying could mean dropping down the list and losing access to high-demand matches like Plzen. The club must also ensure transparency in ticket allocations, as they do for domestic away games. At the very least, they should publish the breakdown of tickets between supporters and staff/players. If Manchester United’s new leadership decided to cut budgets within the ticket office, it would suggest a lack of regard for the club’s supporters. While budgets are necessary in any business, it’s the fans who bear the brunt of these cuts.”

I also contacted Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) for comment on the situation, as they represent the fans at FF/FAB level.

What are the feelings of MUST on the removal of European away ticket collections?’

Duncan: “Our role is to reflect the views of supporters to the club. We’ve had almost 400 responses thus far to our request for comments and alternative solutions if the club will not reinstate the collections. Fans are obviously concerned about the impact this has on the credits system which is highly valued by many as a measure of loyalty to ensure it is rewarded. The collections were the most effective way to ensure credits are awarded to those who actually attend and to support the team.”

Do MUST plan to push this topic with the club outside of the fans forum or is that the only channel that can effect change on this?

Duncan: “Yes we have raised it in multiple meetings including with CEO Omar Berrada where we asked him to reconsider the withdrawal of funding for this and other important supporter services. In addition to relaying fan requests for the reinstatement of this service we are also actively discussing alternatives which might achieve the same or similar objectives. We especially welcome additional ideas from supporters. We’ve had some great ideas already. Anyone with suggestions please respond via this form.”

Is there anything fans can do to help put pressure on the club to reverse it?

Duncan: “Certainly it is extremely helpful if the club hears directly from fans in addition to fan reps and via the survey linked above. You can also send views directly as feedback to the club via the contacts here. Specifically you may wish to email: feedback@manutd.co.uk Also submitting a question via the Fans Forum reps here. All this helps to demonstrate how important this service is to ensure meaningful credits for Euro Aways.”

Chris Rumfitt – MUST: “Euro away collections was one part of the system that worked well. Getting rid of them is yet another penny pinching false economy from a club that, at the moment, seems to see the price of everything and the value of nothing. It’s already causing problems for fans and those problems will only grow with future European away fixtures.

“Via the FAB, the FF and separate discussions with the club we continue to make this point and to try and explore whether there are other options or ways to achieve the same goals. All of us need to keep the noise up on this, keep pointing out the consequences and hope that as they become more apparent we can get the club to think again.”

To finish up, I spoke with Dips Jandu, FF Rep ST Holders.

What was the feelings of the FF and how did the converstion around it go?

Dips: “Thank you for addressing the issues surrounding the changes to the European away ticket collection process for Manchester United supporters. As you know, the current system requires fans to collect tickets in person and present identification, ensuring that those attending genuinely benefit from the credit system. This approach has been highly effective in maintaining a fair process, and many of us believe it works well.

At the recent Fans’ Forum meeting, we raised serious concerns about the club’s decision to end in-person collections due to cost reviews and staffing cuts. We expressed our disappointment and frustration, as this decision undermines a system highly valued by supporters who invest significant time and money in travelling to these matches. Without the collection requirement, individuals can apply for tickets simply to gain credit, undermining the integrity of a system carefully developed over the years.

We have urged the club to reconsider and put forward viable suggestions, such as reducing the number of collections or implementing partial collections, to preserve the system’s fairness and reliability. However, the club has indicated that they will not allocate resources to this, deeming it “non-critical.” We’ve made it clear that supporter services are essential and have called for a budget review to prioritise this important issue. We will pick it up again at the next Forum and invite any viable suggestions on how to keep this credit system intact.”

Its a pretty sad indictment of the current state of financial affairs when supporter services, fan services, have taken such a dramatic hit.

In July it was announced INEOS planned to release 250 club staff on redundancy, to trim the wage bill and expenditure on services provided at the club.

Coupled with another less than inspiring report from the club as INEOS cut the club staff travel and food entitlements to the Cup final at Wembley

INEOS have been tightening the purse strings massively across the board, and although I’m sure much of this is necessary and areas needed strengthening on how they allocated funds, the cost of sending staff, a room hire fee and some security to retain the integrity of the single system in place that every fan agreed with, ID collections in Europe, must surely be minimal in the grander scheme of things at the club.

The club has stated that they will not be reversing this decision this season, meaning a minimum of four European Away Credits will have been obtained by fans, potentially without ever leaving the comfor of their couch, while also causing a closed shop to those wishing to get on the credits ladder.

It’s not acceptable, it’s tone deaf and they certainly have not read the room, dropping a decision like this without any prior consultation or comms being issued to the FF/FAB/Fanbase leaves a sour taste.

INEOS can do a lot better, they must do a lot better.