Hearts fans plan to boycott games at Hibs and Celtic over ticket prices

By BARRY ANDERSON
Published on Tuesday 29 November 2011 11:54

HEARTS fans are considering boycotting forthcoming away matches at Celtic and Hibs because of new ticketing measures which will see them pay more than 25 per cent extra to attend the games.

Officials at Celtic Park and Easter Road are opting to sell tickets straight to Hearts supporters and post them out, ensuring revenue goes direct to the home clubs without any involvement from Hearts. However, fans are outraged at the booking and special delivery fees they are being asked to pay to secure their seats.

Hearts staff will not handle their allocation for the SPL encounter at Parkhead on December 10, nor the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road on January 2, 2012. But, inclusive of booking and delivery fees, a single Hearts fan attending the Celtic match must pay £35.70 for an unrestricted view ticket. Hibs are charging individuals marginally less at £34, again inclusive of delivery. The rise in cost is sharp for tickets costing £29 (full view) at Parkhead and £28 at Easter Road. Celtic claim the special delivery service is optional, but Hibs have made it compulsory.

That means Edinburgh-based Hearts supporters cannot collect their tickets in person for the New Year derby and must pay £6 to receive them in the post, although group bookings will not be charged extra. Hearts fans are angered at such a dramatic price increase and are now contemplating staying at home on both occasions.

“This will put a lot of Hearts fans off going to these games,” admitted Steve Kilgour, who is secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters.

“Some folk have spoken about asking for a boycott, saying Hibs in particular can go and raffle for the money because we’ll just watch it in the pub.

“I don’t think that’s the way to go but that’s the kind of things people are talking about.

“Once again it’s Scottish football ignoring its paying punters. At a time when they are trying to get people through turnstiles, some clubs are making it harder and harder for fans to go to games.

“This arrangement causes a lot of inconvenience, especially for supporters’ clubs.

“We are used to dealing with Hearts directly and getting our orders in a group booking. There’s no guarantee of that same service from Celtic and Hibs. If this is being done because the other clubs suspect Hearts won’t pay them the ticket money they are due, then that’s just an excuse.

“I think the other clubs want the money straight away, they don’t want to wait because they need cash themselves,” Kilgour went on.

“Some people feel Hearts should do the same to Hibs when the time comes for them to come to Tynecastle next year. But all this is just making it harder for the ordinary paying supporter to get to a game.

“There has been a bit of tit for tat between Hearts and Celtic in the past over tickets. But Celtic go out of their way to make you unwelcome as it is.

“Parkhead is the most inhospitable place in Scotland to go and watch a football match. That goes from the stewarding right to the policing,” Kilgour claimed.

“We’re Hearts supporters, we want to deal with Hearts.

“We don’t want to deal with Hibs and we don’t want to deal with Celtic, or any other club for that matter.”

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92

The Yak Farmer

Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 04:56 PM

Regarding the " women and children" who were assaulted by Celtic fans during a previous meeting between the two clubs (and also alluded to by the uber-TiTT), were any complaints made to the police? Were there charges brought ? Were any Hearts fans admitted to hospital as a result ? Was it caught on Hearts state of the art security cameras ? if not why not ?

91

Newyearsday73

Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 04:03 PM

87 And your point is what?

90

muddywater

Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 01:54 PM

Yeah, who would miss them? No attacks on managers, less secterian singing etc. Good idea!

89

Chip Stencil

Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 01:18 PM

The Hearts end will be a sell-out. It always is. Ten of us in our booking, 60p each for postage. Non story.

88

Hen Broon

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 04:00 PM

Brilliant RS.....HEARTS won that day as well............. HEARTS fans ....DO NOT give Hibs the advantage of playing in front of a ghostly audience.......I have a feeling it will unerve our players ....the Hibs boys do it every other week .

87

rsullivan

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 03:36 PM

Here is an account of derby day March1934 from the book Magnus Merriman written by Eric Linklater.Magnus is in the capital on the occasion of a rugby international between Scotland and the old enemy from the south.This young man from Orkney describes the people going to the Rugby match. Nowin the morning this crowd goes to and fro on Princes Street,but in the early afternoon it heads westward,all one way,to the football ground.And on this particular afternoon it was joined by a second crowd,different in appearence,manner and speech,that was also bent on seeing a football match. But this match was another kind of football,played by professional players,and the spectators hurrying to it,though far more excited and livlier in their conversation than those who werte going to the international game.had not the athletic look og the latter, They were another order,socially inferior to the devotees of Rugby and they had not been seen on Princes Street in the morning sunlight because they had beeb at work. To look at them it seemed obvious that work was a perversion,for it had not given them the upright bearing and the swinging stride that play had bestowed on the others,but rather it had kept their faces pale,and though it had toughened them it had not given them grace, but balso it seemed that they had a larger gift of enthusiasm,for already they werte hotly arguing about the prospects of the game-the Rugbt people discussed their afternoons entertainment in tones of calmness and with easy comment-though the professional match had not the spur of international rivalry.but was merely a competition between two Edinburgh clubs known as theHibernians and the Heart of Midlothian. The above is an extract from the chapter Rugby I nternational from the book Magnus Merriman published by Jonathan Cape LTD in 1934.

86

Cave not Shed

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 01:35 PM

If you think about it say you order 4 tickets, thats quite a sum of money. If you dont want to pay £6 to guarantee their delivery around the madness of the xmas post then your a braver soul than me.

85

JaimeDLG

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 10:43 AM

Sounds like Hearts fans are trying to take out their frustration on Hibs. So be it if they take the huff.

84

brumell

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 09:45 AM

Hearts fans "outraged" at being asked to pay the same as Celtic fans when they travel to Tynecastle and totally ignoring the Celtic statement? Class journalism coupled with total ignorance or just mischief making? I would have expected an update if not a correction from the paper.

83

Taigh na Croiche

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 08:21 AM

Don't mind going to ER to pick up a ticket but being forced to pay an extra £6 is out of order. All Jambos should boycott the game. With Hibs' finances going down the plughole too the loss of revenue would hurt them more than it would us watching it in the pub.

82

sonofcosmos

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 08:14 AM

remember when newspapers tried to be balanced and fair...how this article could be published with no reference to the facts in the celtic response (#74) defies belief. shame on you scotsman shame on you.

81

dvoodoo

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 03:50 AM

Why let the truth get in the way of another made up story by the evening rag. Celtic's response hits the nail on the head, hearts dont want to handle the tickets (probably due to not being able to afford to pay the ticket office staff) so celtic and hibs are dealing with it for them. Exactly the same as hearts do for visits to the shed in gorgie. As a celtic fan living in Edinburgh it is easy enough for me to get the tickets organised. £30 for a trip to hearts away is still cheaper than the £40 for a trip to the cesspit that is ibrox.

80

Baldrick

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 02:05 AM

Maybe this is a good thing. While I have often been at the Giro and Parkhead I have never felt comfortable at either. It's not so much 3rd world as different in a rather strange way. As for Ibrox, I wouldn't let my dog go anyway near there.

79

Portsmouth 657

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 10:24 PM

Why would anyone give any money to the trolls from darkhead?

78

22GamesInARow

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 10:19 PM

Clean and fester rd shouldn't be in the same sentance, but Darkheed is a complete cesspit, 3rd world part of the country indeed

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