Arsenal have backtracked on their policy of charging season ticket holders up to £30 extra to attend their home Champions League tie against Barcelona, following an outcry from fans.
Supporters who already pay some of the highest prices in the country were aghast when the club asked them to pay up to £30 each extra for the tie, believing that they had already paid for up to seven cup matches.
Arsenal said on Friday night that they still believed their policy of adding a surcharge or giving fans a refund depending on what category it attached to the various cup matches was the fairest one.
But in a statement, the club admitted that there was confusion over the charges and that they needed to “improve our supporters understanding of how the system works”.
It said the club would cancel the charge given the outcry, which came amid wider concern among fans over ticket prices.
“It was never our intention that we would upset those fans who are amongst our most loyal supporters. Having listened to their feedback, we are announcing on this occasion that we will not ask fans to pay the additional amount due under our season ticket conditions for the game on February 23rd,” read the statement.
“We remain of the view that our approach to our season ticket package of 26 games is the fairest it can be and is designed so that our season ticket holders pay the correct price each season for the matches they watch.
“However, it is clear that our fans have not been fully aware of the fact that even if we do play 26 games in some years they will get a refund, which happened in 2014-15, whilst in other years they will need to pay extra. This is linked to the teams we draw in the cup competitions.”
The club said they would work to explain the policy better to supporters in future.