Falkirk Herald finds majority of Falkirk fans plan to boycott Celtic trip amid 'excessive' ticket pricing

An overwhelming majority of Falkirk fans are planning to boycott this Sunday’s trip to Celtic Park in solidarity with ultras group ‘Gate 20’ - who confirmed earlier this month that they would not be taking up their allocation of briefs for the Scottish Premiership fixture.

Highlighting the “excessively high” and “unacceptable” away ticket pricing, the group called on supporters to snub the visit to Glasgow’s east end in the hope that other SPFL clubs will begin to follow Falkirk’s lead in capping away ticket pricing.

The Bairns, who are fan-owned through the Falkirk Supporters Society (FSS), only charge £25 for an adult away ticket no matter the Premiership opponent. Celtic, on the other hand, are asking Falkirk fans to pay £36 for an unrestricted adult brief. A restricted view ticket is £3 cheaper. Concession and children-age tickets are also considerably dearer. The Parkhead club also have varied pricing, with other clubs being charged even more. For example, Hibs fans were charged £39 for an unrestricted adult brief on their last visit to Celtic back in September.

Majority of Falkirk fans to boycott Celtic game

And after conducting a survey asking if Falkirk fans planned to boycott the match due ticket pricing, the Falkirk Herald can reveal that 82.2 per cent of supporters who engaged with the poll are planning on not attending.

During the 1-0 loss against Celtic at home earlier this month, Gate 20 displayed a banner that read: ‘£36 is theft - boycott Celtic away’. Will Adam, a spokesperson for the group said afterwards: “The banner was in response to Celtic Football Club's continued practice of charging excessively high prices for away supporters at Celtic Park, making attendance increasingly unaffordable for many fans. For families in particular, these inflated ticket prices are compounded by the additional costs of travel, food and drinks.

“We are proud that our club has committed to capping away ticket prices at £25, and we commend other clubs that have adopted similar measures. In this context, a charge of £36 for the same fixture especially for seating in what is widely regarded as one of the poorest away sections in the country - is simply unacceptable.

“Celtic Football Club's ignorance to the financial realities faced by supporters must be challenged. As a result, Gate 20 has declined its ticket allocation for the Celtic vs Falkirk match and calls on all supporters' clubs to do the same. We also urge supporters who do not travel with organised groups to refrain from purchasing tickets for this fixture.”

FSS say fans have taken ‘principled decision’

A spokesperson from the FSS board added: “The FSS board would like to thank Gate 20 falkirk for their decision to boycott the upcoming away fixture against Celtic and for taking a stand against what we believe is an entirely unreasonable ticket price. This is a principled decision and one that many supporters have already recognised and supported.

“Celtic have set ticket prices at £36 for this match-this is simply not acceptable for travelling supporters. As Gate 20 have highlighted, this is part of a wider issue within Scottish football around the affordability of away matches, particularly when fans are already facing significant and rising costs just to follow their team. This level of pricing places a real strain on supporters and runs directly at odds to our club's clear vision for a £25 cap on away ticket prices.

“While we have not formally called on our members, or the wider fanbase, to boycott the fixture (recognising that supporters will have their own reasons for attending) the FSS board does believe that the action taken by Gate 20, Falkirk, and others who share these concerns, is a constructive way of maintaining pressure and pushing for more consistent, fair, and fan-focused pricing across Scottish football.”

Falkirk leading the way for fan-focused structure

Falkirk are already taking a lead on having a fan-focused structure from the top down and the club recently held a meeting of the Scotland Supporters Collective (SSC), which is made up of different ultras groups from clubs across the country, including Gate 20. Topics for discussion included an away ticket pricing cap and Bairns’ chief executive officer Jamie Swinney has previously confirmed that Falkirk would back a £25 away ticket cap.

Central Scotland MSP and Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay has also backed the SSC’s ambitions, and she urged the First Minister John Swinney to put his weight behind the campaign to cap away ticket prices at £25.

She said in Scottish Parliament: “There is often very little that unites football fans. But in recent weeks supporters of Celtic, Falkirk and Motherwell have displayed banners backing my calls for a £25 cap on away tickets. A call that has also been backed by the Scottish Supporters Collective.

“Football is meant to be for everyone, but at a time when the cost of living is rising there are fans being priced out of attending. There are already price caps in place in England and in many other European countries. We know how important attending games is for people, it reduces loneliness, not to mention the wonderful work the trusts at these clubs do for the wider community.

“Clubs would be nothing without their fans. Will the First Minister join me in the calls to cap away ticket prices?”

Swinney said he was happy to give consideration to the issue, and agreed it was important fans are able to enjoy the experience of watching football. A cap of £30 already exists in English football.

The First Minister also said that the Minister for Sport, Maree Todd, would attend a summit on democratising football in Scotland if needed.