The Leeds ‘super displaced contestants’ controversy – what happened and is it fair?

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However, some fans were guaranteed the option to buy away tickets without having to buy a travel season ticket due to their historic commitment to watching Leeds on the road. Fans who attended 80% of away games from 2015 to 2020 earned ‘Super Away Attendees’ status, which applied to 265 fans, a category which ensured they could buy away tickets, in essentially, match by match.

In a change that attracted a lot of attention on social media, the “over-the-road participants” classification has been removed in its previous form. From 2024-25, they will now have to buy an away season ticket to keep the same guaranteed access to away games – they have been asked if they want to buy one for next season – or buy away tickets to one match each. matching basis.

Alex License, a lifelong Leeds fan, was one of 265 people to receive an email last week informing him of the change to his ‘super travel participant’ status. “Even when things weren’t great (on the field), it wasn’t really about the result,” he says. “At the time we were finishing mid-table every season but it was a dream come true as a Leeds fan to be able to travel up and down the country supporting them every week home and away.

“There were two things: the moment they told us about the change, which is going to cost a lot of fans a lot of money when we thought we wouldn’t be stressing about tickets for this season. It’s either finding the money upfront or committing to financing, which will cost even more with added interest.

“But the other thing is to know what goes into the management fee. The demand for tickets is obvious because we have been relatively successful in recent years. I think some other fans see the super-travelers as ticket hogs, but they got it for a reason, it takes a lot of commitment and a lot of money over the years (to go to so many games in displacement).

Leeds players show their appreciation for the away fans last May (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

At a time when fair pricing for fans is a hot topic, License’s social post about the issue has sparked a lot of interest online. “It locked my phone after a few hours, so I had to disable the post,” he says. “It’s a football problem, it’s not just Leeds. You can see it happening to fans everywhere, but obviously Leeds is relevant for us.”

There is a degree of pragmatism in the club’s decision. Satisfying all fans regarding ticket issues is impossible. The uptake by those with ‘super away attendee’ status for away games was, as expected of a group of fans with that classification, very high. The removal of this status will likely mean that a few more tickets are available for away matches for fans who were not ‘super away attendees’.

The key issues for supporters, however, are clarity about the costs associated with the away season ticket, the timing of the announcement and how it was communicated.

The cost of away tickets is calculated by adding up estimates of what each Championship club will charge Leeds fans for an away ticket. Individual ticket prices for all away games totaled £669 in 2023-24 and fans were charged £825. If the cost of individually purchased away tickets exceeds the price of that season’s away pass, the excess is not charged to fans.

However, as the cost of attending each match on a match-by-match basis in 2023-24 was £156 less than the price of the away season ticket, the club reimbursed away season ticket holders £54. The club said the difference between these figures (£102) was to cover administration and postage.

Recent changes to away status have been communicated to fan groups including the Leeds United Supporters’ Trust, although they say no details of the new away ticket price or discount information were initially presented.

LUST have spoken to the club and are pushing for the details behind the administration fees for the away season tickets. They welcome the new £30 price cap for away fans at Elland Road, which is in place for the 2024-25 season, but highlight their disappointment that home fans who sat in the same stand face a price hike .

Where the Trust and other supporters want clarity is the basis for the fees charged to away season ticket holders, as well as a greater desire to see future changes communicated with as much notice as possible so that fans are not faced with a substantial problem. expenses or the assumption of debts in the short term.

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(Top photo: Leeds United at Stamford Bridge last season; by Ryan Pierse via Getty Images)