Liverpool Owners Make U-Turn On Ticket Hike, Apologises To Fans

Angered by the plans of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), supporters sang “You greedy b******s, enough is enough” before walking out in the 77th minute of Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Sunderland.

The timing reflected the £77 being asked for the most expensive ticket at Anfield next season.

The action of the fans has now forced the club owners to announce a number of changes to their initial proposals in a structure which will also remain for the 2017-18 season.

Liverpool’s dearest match-day ticket will now stay at £59.

The highest season-ticket price is also frozen for the next two seasons, the highest season ticket price will be at £869, while the lowest will be at £685.

There was also a removal of game categorisations and an increase in the number of £9 tickets to 10,000 across a Premier League campaign. So regardless of the opposition, supporters will pay the same price for match day tickets.

In an open letter, principal owner John W Henry, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner and FSG president Mike Gordon said: “The three of us have been particularly troubled by the perception that we don’t care about our supporters, that we are greedy, and that we are attempting to extract personal profits at the club’s expense.

“Quite the opposite is true. From our first days as owners we have understood that serving as custodians of this incredible institution is a distinct privilege and as such, we have been driven solely by the desire to return LFC to the pinnacle of football.

“To that end, we have never taken a single penny out of the football club.

“Instead we have injected vast sums of our own money to improve the playing squad and modernise LFC’s infrastructure – exemplified by the £120million advance (to be repaid over five years interest-free) from FSG to build the new Main Stand.

“This massive undertaking was made in order to provide more supporters access to Anfield and also to produce additional revenue to help us compete financially with clubs that have greater resources.

“When it opens in August this year the stand will accomplish those goals, thereby fulfilling a promise we made upon acquiring LFC in 2010.”

Henry, Werner and Gordon did, however, admit it was an error to freeze only 64 percent of season tickets while raising the most expensive match ticket from £59 to £77.

“It has been a tumultuous week,” said their letter. “On behalf of everyone at Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool Football Club we would like to apologise for the distress caused by our ticket pricing plan for the 2016/17 season.

“We prefer to look at the parts of the ticketing plan we got right. On the other hand, part of the ticketing plan we got wrong.

“We believe we have demonstrated a willingness to listen carefully, reconsider our position, and act decisively. The unique and sacred relationship between Liverpool Football Club and its supporters has always been foremost in our minds.”