pete 2,499 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Queen of the South back SPFL decision to charge fans for Championship play-off matches and announce ticket plans 11:18, 30 April 2015 By Gregor Kyle QUEENS will not be siding with Hearts and Rangers in the debate over charging fans for the matches, with tickets going on sale on Monday. SNS Palmerston Park, the home of Queen of the South Palmerston Park, the home of Queen of the South QUEEN OF THE SOUTH will be charging fans for entry to the key play-off matches - with tickets going on sale on Monday. Hearts and Rangers are currently at loggerheads with the Scottish Professional Football League over pricing for the key matches and have already stated that they will be allowing season ticket holders entry at no additional charge. This presents a problem for the SPFL with an agreement already in place that 50 per cent of ticket revenue from the matches is shared among all member clubs. Talks will be held at Easter Road today, with Hibs being tipped to side with their city rivals and the third-placed Ibrox side. Queens have remained silent on the issue until this morning but have now stated that fans WILL be charged, as they would for cup matches and tickets will go on sale on Monday morning (May 4) at 10am. "We are conscious of the debate between some of our playoff rivals and the SPFL regarding whether or not season ticket holders will be given free or cheaper access to these games," read the club statement. "Notwithstanding what may or may not be decided by the league in this respect we have always expected that our season ticket holders would pay for the playoff games as they did last season and as they have for any cup match and budgeted our costs on that basis. "Our season ticket is deliberately priced so that it allows entry to 18 league games at the cost of 16 games. With the SPFL rules meaning they take a levy of 50% of the gate receipts before expenses, and the high cost of policing and stewarding these fixtures, the board do not feel that they are in a position to offer free entry to season ticket holders. "Therefore, we have now finalised arrangements for sale of tickets for the first playoff match on May 9th (5:30pm kick off) although the opposition are still to be confirmed." Tickets for the match will read “Queen of the South vs Championship 3rd”, with the early printing designed to avoid any delays and season ticket holders will have the chance to purchase their tickets this Sunday (May 3) between 11am and 1:30pm. Of course they do the payout will be higher if Rangers and Hibs contribute to the fund. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Should it not have been Hibs and Rangers given Hearts don't care 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,761 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Everybody wants the blue pound 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinstein 294 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 they haven't really said they back the SPFL proposals. Simply that costs of the game dictate that they need entry money. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
compo 7,198 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 the precedent has been set 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,761 Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 Who is in the right over the SPFL play-off season ticket row? A row over letting season ticket holders into the SPFL's Premiership play-off matches for free is set to come to a head. Rangers stated their desire this week to open the doors to their loyal fans, despite the league warning privately that they are forbidden from doing so. The issue has evolved from a disagreement over the requirement of the clubs in the play-offs to pay 50% of their gross home gate receipts to the SPFL. With a significant windfall expected from games involving Hibernian, Rangers, Queen of the South and a Premiership side, most likely Motherwell at this stage, the league is eager to ensure the maximum revenue possible is derived. The rule, adopted at the inception of the league in 2013, was subject to a failed late bid by Hibernian and Motherwell to have it reduced to 25% for as long as the Scottish FA continue to fund parachute payments for a club relegated from 11th spot in the Scottish Premiership. STV understands some of the teams involved believe the SPFL has no jurisdiction to determine how much they charge fans for entry. The league are likely inclined to disagree. So what forms do their respective arguments take, and what's the independent viewpoint on it? The clubs' argument Rangers issued a statement on Tuesday outlining their "intention" to let season ticket holders in for free to all play-off home matches. "The club believes supporters who bought tickets for the entire season should not be asked to pay more," they said. "It is fundamentally wrong to ask supporters to pay for season tickets and then, at the end of the campaign, expect them to pay again to watch what will now be the most important matches of that same season." Rangers also made reference to Hibernian being given grace to let their season ticket holders in for free in their play-off final match with Hamilton Academical last season, which the Ibrox side believes sets a precedent. Motherwell have said they will let season ticket holders in for free for their home match if they finish in the 11th position in the Premiership. Queen of the South say they will charge season ticket holders for entry because of finances. They say the 50% levy imposed by the SPFL makes it impossible to cover their costs and give free admission. Hibernian are yet to state their formal position on the matter. The SPFL's argument The SPFL's interpretation of their own rulebook is likely to rely on one, or possibly two of its articles. The first is rule C26, which specifically relates to the levy imposed on clubs whereby they are compelled to hand over 50% of gross gate receipts from home play-off matches. The rule states that all monies "paid or payable" from admission are due from teams. That could possibly offer the league a way of forcing clubs to pay the value of admission fees for each spectator, even if they choose to let season ticket holders in for free. Rules which ensure away supporters are not charged more than home fans at games could potentially apply in this instance, blocking any club from giving free entry to season ticket holders. Rule I31 states a home club is "prohibited from charging higher admission prices to accommodation designated for supporters of the visiting club than for broadly comparable accommodation designated for use by supporters of the home club at the same match." STV contacted the SPFL for clarification on precisely how the rules expressly forbid clubs from letting season ticket holders for free. They declined to comment. Earlier this week, the league said: "This matter is under active discussion and we expect to arrive at a definitive position in the next few days." What do the lawyers say? Neeraj Thomas is a sports lawyer with Burness Paull LLP. He says he sees the argument from both sides, and feels the final decision will likely come down to interpretation of the rules. "I think the SPFL are basing their argument on rule C26, which basically states that money "paid or payable" for play-off matches. On that money should be a 50% levy paid to the SPFL as an organisation. "There's a counter-argument to that in that there isn't a clear rule which says you can't let in fans for free for these play-off matches. So I think that's probably where the tension is coming at the moment. "The fact they do mention 'or payable' I think is what the SPFL are going to hang their hat on and say whether the money is paid or not is really relevant. The fact is the money is 'payable', so it is due. "So if Rangers or any other clubs don't want to charge their fans for that, the money is [still] payable so it should be paid by the clubs to the SPFL in lieu of the fans not actually paying their own admission fee. "The clubs are saying if there's no actual rule saying we have to charge season ticket holders into these play-off matches, then they are obviously saying they are free to do what they want. "There are also some general rules that the clubs may try and argue round, and say they are able to comply with the rules by not charging season ticket holders for these play-off matches. "But it is clear there is some ambiguity about what rules apply and how those rules are going to be interpreted. "It is very difficult. It does purely come down to interpretation of rule C26. The club view would be that the money hasn't been paid, therefore they are free to not charge their season ticket holders into this match. There is not a specific rule which says they have to. "The SPFL will obviously say if the money is 'payable', and should be paid, the levy is going to be less if they don't charge season ticket holders for this game, therefore they should pay. The Hibernian precedent The SPFL didn't rule Hibs to be in breach of league rules last season when they let in season ticket holders for free to their play-off final match with Hamilton Academical. Naturally, this has led to a situation where many are posing the question: how can one club get permission one year and yet this year, other clubs are being told they can't? "The Hibs issue definitely has caused a significant problem for the SPFL," Thomas said on the matter. "When it comes to the enforcement of these rules, they have to be enforced consistently. "In a situation where it is all a bit vague what happened with Hibs last year, but it seems to be the position that they didn't charge their season ticket holders for entry into the play-off matches. However that was decided, it was the decision was made they didn't have to charge their fans for that match. "The problem now for the SPFL comes when they insist other clubs have to charge their season ticket holders for that match. "The other clubs will obviously say 'what about Hibs last year? They didn't charge their season ticket holders, why is it we are having to charge our season ticket holders now?'". Hearts chairman Ann Budge has also made clear her opinion that a precedent has been set. "It’s what Hibs did last year and it’s difficult to allow one club to do it one year and not allow it the following year," she told STV. “I think it’s indicative of the fact that we really need to look at the whole thing and be sensible about what the rules are.” Could the rules be circumvented? Aside from the argument over interpretation of the rules, there are possible ways in which any team could get around the rule to ensure season ticket holders are given free entry. Firstly, a club could go to the extreme of letting away fans in for nothing, ensuring season ticket holders can also be given free entry. Rangers fans without season tickets would be charged, as the SPFL rules do not extend to ensuring home fans are given the same deal as away supporters. Another scenario could see the total value of a season ticket being extended to cover 21 matches and then charging that amount to other spectators. As an example, a £300 season ticket which granted entry to 18 games would value each match at £16.67 for admission. Spread out to incorporate a maximum of three play-off matches, the cost would be £14.29. A club could, arguably, charge non-season ticket holders that amount, thus ensuring the same admission price has been paid by all. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/318884-who-is-in-the-right-over-the-spfl-play-off-season-ticket-row/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,652 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Seems to me that the SPFL have no choice but to allow Rangers and Motherwell to charge in line with what Hibs did. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
limeburner 0 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Seems to me that the SPFL have no choice but to allow Rangers and Motherwell to charge in line with what Hibs did. If they dont ,their reasons are gonna make for interesting reading.(by our lawyers) 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 The muppets currently running Scottish football couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Its not fundamentally wrong at all, its clear that a ST is for the 18 home league matches, but its a nice gesture by the Club especially when a ST is priced at more than the cost of the individual league matches. I think Frankie´s assessment is right though, its one in the eye for the SPFL. Edited May 1, 2015 by BrahimHemdani 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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