Image Credits: Spirit of Shankly
Liverpool’s decision to introduce multi-year general admission ticket price increases sparked widespread supporter backlash earlier this month, prompting CEO Billy Hogan to send a mass email to season-ticket holders and members on April 10th — aiming to provide what he called “further clarity” on the rationale behind the rises.
For many, however, the response did little to ease concerns. Supporter union Spirit of Shankly (SoS, who hold the largest number of representatives on the Supporters Board, have now issued a formal reply to Hogan directly challenging the club’s justification.
An excerpt from the lengthy full statement available on the SoS website reads:
“Dear Billy ”
“Thank you for the “personalised” email, sent to hundreds of thousands of Liverpool supporters on Friday, 10 April, with ‘further clarity’ and ‘information and rationale” surrounding LFC’s approach to general admission ticket-price increases.”
“We understand the importance of running the club sustainably, but don’t believe this should be at the expense of supporters.”
“We acknowledge an 85% increase in matchday operation costs, over the past decade, but these come in part due to the expansion of the stadium. Matchday revenue is also up by 85%, so the costs are surely covered? The club’s total revenues have also grown by 133% to £703m.
“In the same time frame, ticket prices may have risen by just 4%, but a price freeze 10 years ago came only after the walk-out in protest at tickets being raised to £77. This period also includes times when there were no supporters in the ground due to the pandemic. And there have been discussions in which the club sought to raise prices, so the decision not to, is not solely benevolent.”
SoS have pushed back on the club’s cost justification, pointing out that hospitality income, media revenue (more than doubled to £264m) and commercial revenue (up to £323m) have all grown significantly – and question why matchday supporters should shoulder increased costs when those revenue streams are booming.
They also flag that directors’ pay rose 8% to £4.2m and agent fees sit at £33m, making the £1.2m raised from ticket increases look trivial by comparison.
SoS add that they feel their issues are falling on deaf ears:
“We believe our contribution is not valued. In early 2025, when LFC froze prices, we asked for earlier, more meaningful engagement next time, to avoid the rush to discuss pricing.”
“We met with the LFC Board, including owners and yourself, last October (part of the Supporters Board agreement).”
“Ticket pricing was on the agenda, then removed, and a commitment to meet not forthcoming. Despite letters, in line with the FSA’s national campaign Stop Exploiting Loyalty, there was no meeting until January. This was then postponed, as the club were not ready to present their position until February, almost four months later.”
They finish off by urging the club to return to the negotiating table regarding the planned ticket price increases:
“You have told us no decision has been made beyond the three-year approach and meaningful dialogue will continue. We ask again that you reconsider this decision and work with us on alternatives. We ask that we get back around the table and find genuine long-term solutions that benefit the club and future-proof our support for generations to come, so that we can all focus on other issues, like the success of the team – the very reason we do all this.”
Read the full Spirit of Shankly statement HERE.