FA urged to impose Premier League rules following Man City v Newcastle United decision

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) has urged the FA to adopt Premier League ticket pricing rules following Man City’s decision to charge Newcastle United fans up to £37.50 a ticket for their FA Cup Quarter Final meeting on March 16 (5:30pm kick-off). The Magpies will be backed by a big following of travelling fans at the Etihad Stadium, but those fans will pay more for a ticket than they did for the Premier League meeting between the sides back in August.

That’s because the Premier League have set a cap on pricing for away tickets at £30, however, no such cap exists in the cup competitions. Newcastle United fans were charged close to £40 by Manchester United and Chelsea for their Carabao Cup meetings earlier this season, whilst Fulham also charged Magpies fans more than the £30 cap for their FA Cup clash in January.

This hasn’t been a policy adopted by all clubs, however, with Blackburn Rovers bucking the trend and charging just £20 for an adult ticket during the last round of FA Cup games. Taking to X, the FSA urged the FA to adopt the price cap and keep the FA Cup affordable for all fans.

They posted: ‘The £30 cap in the Premier League has been a great success - saving fans millions and ensuring away ends stay full. This might not be a Premier League game, but the FA Cup should never be used as an excuse to ramp up costs and rip off fans. Keep the #FACup affordable.’

Newcastle United haven’t featured in the last-eight of the FA Cup for four years. Their opponents on that occasion were also Manchester City in a match Steve Bruce’s side would lose 2-0 behind-closed-doors at St James’ Park.

Newcastle’s last successful FA Cup Quarter Final tie came back in 2005 when they defeated Tottenham Hotspur by a goal to nil at St James’ Park courtesy of a Patrick Kluivert goal. They would go on to get beat by Manchester United in that season’s semi-final at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff with Shola Ameobi scoring Newcastle’s only goal in a disappointing 4-1 defeat.