Manchester City fans made their views known on the club’s deal with Viagogo by staging a hugely effective protest in the opening minutes of last night’s game against Leicester City.
Supporters were encouraged to stay in the concourse until the ninth minute – City have used nine different secondary ticketing agencies – and they did so in their thousands.
This was the concourse immediately after the goal, thousands of Blues staying on the concourse to protest @Mancity‘s ticketing policy.
You don’t see this many people here at halftime! That’s what we call solidarity, nobody can deny the strength of feeling. The club got it wrong. pic.twitter.com/QVy8AZTPRV
— MCFC Fans Foodbank Support (@MCFCfoodbank) April 2, 2025
Jack Grealish put the home side ahead in the second minute and his celebrations took place in front of swathes of empty seats (see above).
The protest wasjointly coordinated by the 1894, Trade Union Blues and MCFC Fans Foodbank who cited high prices and lack of engagement from the club on ticketing policy.
Manchester City’s announcement last week to“welcome Viagogo to the family” was the straw that broke the camel’s back and it’s clear that supporters want Viagogo gone.
7-800 at the demo & 7-8000 stayed on concourse. A warning shot to the board of the club we all love. Wolves at home could be big if no progress. Thanks to the media for helping City fans. Full statement from all groups involved to come later. Football without fans is nothing. pic.twitter.com/SeXjV6hwLP
— 1894 (@WeAre1894) April 3, 2025
A joint statement made by 1894, Trade Union Blues and MCFC Fans Foodbank thanked those who took part and called on the club to “do the right thing”.
They said: “We urge the club to take note and change direction. Season ticket prices must be frozen or reduced, general admission prices must be reduced, the next generation of fans must be able to obtain season tickets and loyalty must be rewarded.”
The groups want a number of ticket policy changes implemented to support these aims alongside regulation of third party ticket sellers.
“Should the club continue to ignore our voices, we stand prepared to consider escalatory action,” they added.
A massive hat-tip to all supporters who took part last night and to the organisers of the protest – these are not easy things to pull off and they’ve organised what is arguably the most visible in-stadium ticket price protest since Liverpool fans walked off the Kop in 2016.
Plenty of clubs run their own in-house ticket resale platforms allowing supporters to pass on tickets to one another at face value – so why does any club need to engage a third party company whose only reason for existence is to push up prices and profit from matchgoers?
Clubs are implementing increasingly strong policing around ticketing – we regularly hear from supporters who are being penalised for passing on tickets at face value outside of a club’s own systems.
Yet clubs are happy to cosy up to companies who are only interested in making money and exploiting supporter loyalty.
There is an on-goingGovernment consultation to which the FSA plans to submit evidence. We have already appeared before Parliament where FSA chair Tom Greatrexoutlined our concerns around the dangers that dynamic or surge pricing poses.
“I’m not going to start supporting Brentford instead of Fulham because their tickets are cheaper. So that’s why it feels like exploitation – we’ve seen a reduction and removal of concessions and dynamic pricing feels like another tool that could be used to maximise revenue from supporters,” said Tom.
“The loyalty of longstanding supporters will end up being priced out, particularly at London clubs, where one-off visitors and tourists who want to see a Premier League game [would be willing to pay a lot more] to the detriment of loyal fans who keep clubs going in the tough times.”
Prices in the top-flight have risen 19% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while there is an ongoing attack on concessionary rates at many clubs which has led to our#StopExploitingLoyalty campaign. We do not welcome anything which further drives up prices.