Leicester City are staging a protest this Sunday, by refusing to take to the pitch for the opening five minutes of the weekend’s match at the Emirates, and Arsenal fans have been asked to do the same.
The crunch fixture was moved in order to satisfy the television companies, but with tickets having been on sale since December, deciding to move the match in mid-January is simply unacceptable.
Many fans of both clubs will be out of money because of the move, with many people having paid travel and accomodation costs in order to get to the match, none of which will be compensated.
A large part of the protest is claiming that while the Premier League clubs are raking in excess amounts of money from television rights and sponsors, the fans are not treated fairly, despite the huge role they play.
Without fans in the stadium, the atmosphere would be lacklustre to say the least, and clubs would be foolish to overlook that.
We at Arsenal pay the highest ticket prices in the country, and we have rarely seen all that excess profit spent on players when we need them, such as Arsene Wenger’s refusal to sign a defensive midfielder until this January, despite lacking in the role since Vieira’s departure in 2005.
Arsenal fan group REDAction have urged our fans to follow the Leicester crowd in refusing to take to our seats until five minutes into the match, in disgust at our recent treatment, and no doubt these fans protests will become more regular in the coming years.
I believe we should of course follow the Foxes in their protest, and we most definitely do not get the credit we deserve for the role we play in our beloved club’s success. I do wish it didn’t have to be in such a title-deciding encounter however…
Will/would you be be participating in the organised protest at the Emirates?