Villa vs Spurs Fixture Change Fallout
Aston Villa’s final home game of the 2024/25 Premier League season against Tottenham Hotspur being moved to Friday, May 16, at short-notice, again highlighted the perils of being a match-going supporter.
The fixture, originally scheduled for the weekend, was brought forward to accommodate Spurs reaching the Europa League final, ensuring they would have the same preparation time as Manchester United, should both sides make it.
While the reason may seem pragmatic on paper, the reality for match-going fans is deeply inconvenient – especially given that only 10 days’ notice was provided. Many Villa supporters had already booked flights, trains, and accommodation, all of which may now be unusable or non-refundable.
If the date change has left you out of pocket, please fill in this survey, from which we’ll send the findings to the Premier League.
Refunds and Resales: The Season Ticket Dilemma
General admission fans who bought Category A-priced tickets for the match do have the opportunity to request a full refund (up until May 13th by calling the ticket office or emailing in). However, season ticket holders who can no longer attend due to the rescheduling face being out of pocket.
If they wish to sell their seat via the club’s official resale platform, they will be subjected to what is effectively a 20% tax – only receiving 80% of the 1/19th pro-rata value of their season ticket price.
This deduction was introduced as a pretext of being a deterrent to “season ticket squatting”, a term referring to supporters who buy season tickets only to benefit from priority access to domestic cup semi-finals and finals, without attending regular matches. With season ticket benefits eroding over recent seasons and domestic cup runs few and far between, it’s effectively a tax that is punishing loyal fans who give the club a large chunk of money upfront, rather than solving the problem it set out to address.
A System That Serves No One
The Villa resale system has been controversial from the outset. While clubs like Spurs allowed their supporters to resell seats at face value of the individual match price (although this is set to change to 1/19th of a season ticket, next season), Villa’s deduction compared to all other Premier League stands out as overly harsh.
A recent fan survey conducted by the Villa Fan Advisory Board highlighted just how unpopular the scheme is:
- 93.8% of Villa fans said it was important to have a simple and fair resale option when unable to attend.
- 90.1% said they would be more likely to use the club’s resale platform if the value was more in line with the actual season ticket cost per game.
- 57% are not satisfied with the current system, with 34.7% neutral and only a minority in support.
The numbers back this up. For instance, a Category A match such as Spurs in the middle of the Holte End can sell for £72.50 on general sale. The season ticket value per game, however, averages around £43.05. When a season ticket holder lists their seat for resale, the club then resells it at full price or even via GA+, pocketing at least £38 extra per seat — while the original ticket holder gets a significantly reduced rebate at £34.44, after 20% is taken from it.
Club also Missing Out on £
It’s no surprise that fans have stated that they prefer to sell their tickets to other fans directly, or pass them on to friends or family, avoiding the club’s system altogether. Or, in some cases, leave the seat empty, as they don’t want to feel ripped off.
In short, the system not only fails supporters (who are constantly subjected to broadcast date changes), but leaves money on the table for the club. A fairer straight 1/19th rebate system (cost value), judging from fan sentiment in the survey, would actually lead to a significant higher usage, meaning substantial revenue for the club and less empty seats (a win for the team).
To have a resale system that is fair to supporters and also generates more money for the club – surely that’s a win-win for everyone?
UTV
If you’re a Villa season ticket holder, please fill in the ticket resale survey here
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