News, Essex
News, Essex
A Labour MP has contacted government secretaries of state and ministers over the limited number of tickets being sold for the National League play-off final next month.
Southend United said it expected 30,000 of its fans to want tickets for the game against Oldham Athletic at Wembley on 1 June, but had been told it could only sell 17,500 due to safety concerns.
No trains are due to stop at Wembley Park station on the day of the match because of planned engineering work.
David Burton-Sampson, MP for Southend West and Leigh, said fans should “watch this space”.
“We are working behind the scenes to try and get this ridiculous situation resolved,” he said.
Southend United said on Friday that the decision was made “in order to allay safety concerns” because of the increased pressure expected on the nearby Wembley Central station, which is due to operate.
But the club said it had communicated its dissatisfaction with Wembley Stadium, the National League, the Mayor of London’s office and senior ministers.
While it had been told to limit ticket sales to 17,500, the club said this cap did not include any packages sold with coach travel.
The Shrimpers’ said they had sourced 28 coaches, which could take sales up to 18,900. They said they would continue finding more coaches.
“Our focus at present is finding solutions to the problems we have been presented with,” a club spokesperson added.
Transport for London (TfL) confirmed the Jubilee and Metropolitan Underground lines would also be affected on the day of the final.
“We have been in communication with both sets of clubs and have asked them to inform their fans of the closures and to advise travelling by coach where possible,” a TfL spokesman said.
Burton-Sampson has signed a joint letter with Southend-on-Sea City Council Labour leader Daniel Cowan, and fellow Labour MP for Southend East and Rochford, Bayo Alaba.
They wrote to various offices, and asked for the planned works at Wembley Park to be deferred or for the release of more tickets.
“The fans of both clubs deserve to be able to cheer on their teams from the stands,” the letter said.
Former Southend, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore posted on X to say fans were being “unfairly punished”.
He claimed the ticket limitation would “probably not be implemented would this be a Premier League or England national team game”.
Addressing London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has responsibility for transport in the capital, Collymore said: “I’d be more than happy to set out a thousand reasons why it is important for both clubs to be fully represented at Wembley, and should only be afforded the same privilege as any club, namely to ‘fill the damn place’.”
The Shrimpers Trust supporters group said in a statement: “Unfortunately, the excitement [of Oldham and Southend fans] has been trampled on by the seemingly-amateurish planning of several key stakeholders.”
The Echo newspaper in Essex and the Oldham Times have started a joint petition urging for a larger ticket allocation.
Southend start selling their ticket allocation to season ticket holders from noon on Saturday, with the general sale beginning at 13:00 BST on Sunday.
