Morecambe explain thinking behind FA Cup ticket process

The Shrimps travel to Stamford Bridge next Saturday for the clubs’ second meeting in five seasons.

Fans will be present for this match, having seen the previous tie played behind closed doors during the Covid-affected 2020/21 season.

However, complaints were made after Morecambe’s ticket announcement mentioned a student tickets category before being amended to adults, over-65s and under-20s.

Speaking at Thursday’s fans’ forum, Martin Thomas, the club’s head of commercial, sought to explain what had happened and why the Shrimps had opted to ask Chelsea for an allocation of 3,000 tickets.

He said: “We had an option of 1,500, 3,000 or 6,000. If we chose 6,000, it would have had severe financial consequences had we not sold them.

“We sold 2,558 tickets for Tottenham Hotspur (in January 2022). In the position we’re in, we can’t go off passion.

“I would love for us to take 6,000 to Stamford Bridge, to see coach after coach leaving to go down there.

“There was a mistake made with the second press release. There was a word that shouldn’t have been there: ‘students’.

“It was a template copied from a previous match. We made a mistake and I do apologise to anyone affected.”

There was also upset at the order in which tickets were released, as well as the prices of £34 for adults and £17 for the two concessionary categories.

“It’s agreed by both teams but the home team doesn’t give you much option to be honest,” Thomas said of the prices.

“With regards to tickets and the way we released them, the most important thing for us was ensuring our fans who attend week in, week out, got a ticket.

“Seating blocks and allocations happen every single game. We spoke with the (Shrimps) Trust, we had a request come through they wanted a singing section.

“Our priority was looking after season ticket holders first, then our day-to-day match-going fans.

“Other clubs have been used as an example of how to sell tickets but people who go haven’t got tickets for FA Cup fixtures.

“The most important thing is our matchday fans got tickets and we’ve done an excellent job of ensuring everyone who wanted a ticket has got one.”