Kevin Whitcher
Ok, first up REDaction have organized what I imagine to be a stadium-wide display along the lines of Bayern’s previous visit to the Grove in 2014. Then, it worked a treat, as fans made a deliberate attempt to get to their seats early and play their part. The end result was fantastic, and the team started the game like a train, leading to the award of a penalty, such was the Gunners’ pressure. We’ll forget what happened next…
Anyway, here is the message from REDaction…
Get in early for Bayern!
We’ll keep this one fairly short and to the point - we need everybody in their seats by 7:35pm at the latest on Tuesday night for the Bayern game. There will be a display as the teams come out, which will rely on the stadium being full by then.
So we need you in your seat, we need you to make sure that your mates are in their seats, and we need you to spread the word online and in the pubs around the ground, for people to get in early. Last time we did a display like this, it looked fantastic - but it's only possible if everybody is in their seats in time. It looked great last time (also vs Bayern), and the team really need all the help we can give them this time!
Please get spreading the word, and make that small change to your pre match routine so that you're in the ground by 7:35pm. Hopefully it will look fantastic, and give the whole ground a boost. Talking of pre-match routines, The Rocket will be open from 5pm if you fancy a beer close to the ground. See you in the stadium!
Victory Through Harmony
REDaction
However, although the Bayern players might be intimidated by the show of support, their travelling supporters will not, as they are not entering the stadium for the first five minutes of the match in protest at the £64 per seat that Arsenal are charging away fans. This is their statement…
£64 A TICKET, BUT WITHOUT FANS FOOTBALL IS NOT WORTH A PENNY - BAYERN MUNICH FANS' PROTEST FOR AFFORDABLE TICKET PRICES AT THE GAME ARSENAL - FC BAYERN, 20.10.2015
We will not enter the away sector for the first five minutes of the game Arsenal FC against FC Bayern München on the 20th of October 2015. We will be taking this action to draw attention to the excessive ticket prices for this fixture. The cheapest ticket for this GROUP PHASE match is priced at £64, which with fees and postage included will cost Bayern fans almost €100.
This kind of a price structure makes a stadium visit impossible for younger and socially disadvantaged fans. It destroys fan culture, which is the basis of football. In England, this development has already taken place.
Our action in London is not only directed at ticket prices for a single game. During home games, Bayern fans pay €30 for a single ticket in the cheapest price category. In comparison, this seems moderate. However, seen over the course of a season, it adds up to a large sum, especially for younger fans. In Piraeus, Bayern fans had to pay €50 for away tickets, in Zagreb around €40 will be demanded. In comparison with the prices at Arsenal, this may seem reasonable, but during a qualification game against lesser opposition, the prices in Zagreb were only a tenth of that.
We want to protest at the price structure and at the same time changes in the stadia. We want to remind clubs and associations of their social responsibility and warn them of the effects, which we will all feel, both as fans and club officials. We express our support for campaigns like "20's Plenty" from England and "Kein Zwanni" in Germany. Especially the developments in English football should be a sobering example.
The first five minutes of the game in London will be, what future football will look like if this madness continues. Empty seats in the stands and no singing or emotion in the stands. In the following 85 minutes we want to show the alternative and show how fundamentally important a lively fan-culture is for football.
We call upon all Bayern fans to participate in the protest and to spread this word. It concerns all of us!
