Fans must come first, admits Premier League chief
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore insists his organisation will look to put fans at the top of a list of “conflicting priorities” in a bid to avoid further disappointment and frustration in future seasons.
Fans inundated radio phone-ins to complain about a Christmas and new year fixture list which meant long journeys to away games and were also aggrieved by late postponements caused by the wintry weather, which resulted in many costly, wasted trips.
Sports minister Richard Caborn has called for the Premier League and the Football Association to review their procedures in regard to late postponements.
While Scudamore insists safety must remain the prime concern, he believes there may be room for improvement in how fans are factored into the fixture scheduling process.
“There are many conflicting priorities that need to be reconciled in compiling the fixtures,” he said.
“It is already a near impossible task trying to accommodate the world’s most successful league, two fantastic cup competitions while giving our clubs and the national team every chance of success in Europe and on the international front.
“But this week’s events might result in us putting supporters’ travel at the top of that list of priorities.”
Charlton fans had particular cause for complaint after they made the long trip north to Newcastle on Wednesday only for the game to be postponed for safety reasons less than half an hour before the scheduled kick-off.
“We do look to minimise the distance away fans have to travel for fixtures over Christmas, as was seen with the vast majority of fixtures on Boxing Day,” Scudamore told The Guardian.
“This is clearly a pertinent issue, but with the enormous constraints there are on a fixture list some longer away trips are unavoidable, even at this time of year.
“Everyone can fully appreciate the frustration that many fans must have felt on Wednesday night when the games were postponed because of bad weather.
“But who could possibly predict at the point the fixtures are published in mid-June when we might expect such exceptionally cold conditions as these?
“Both outside and inside the ground, the safety of spectators has to be of greatest concern and clubs work closely with their local police to assess conditions are suitable to stage the game. Unfortunately this sometimes leads to late postponements, as was the case at St James’ Park.”
