IMUSA ON THE CASE

Ref: Charlton Athletic v Manchester United FC 13/9/03

Manchester United FC visits The Valley on September 13th to
play Charlton Athletic. In order to gain access to The
Valley, supporters of Manchester United will be charged £45
for adults and £30 for children. This is an 80% increase
over other games that Charlton will be charging supporters
of other clubs when they in turn visit The Valley.

Charlton Chief Executive Peter Varney whilst trying to
explain a reduction in the allocation to Manchester United
Supporters has offered the following financial justification
"It is unreasonable for us to be penalised so harshly for
the actions of another club's supporters, and as such we
have very reluctantly taken the decision to recover our
costs through increased pricing for away supporters."

The practise of charging Manchester United Supporters more
than supporters of "less glamorous or successful" clubs is
on the increase and these concerns were raised by IMUSA when
we met with the Premier League in July.

IMUSA Vice Chair Mick Meade said:

"In almost every game we play, our members are paying more
than supporters of other clubs. When we met with the FAPL,
we provided documentation proving that supporters of
Manchester United are continuing to be the victims of
profiteering."

"Liverpool visit Charlton 2 weeks after Manchester United
and when you consider that Liverpool are only being charged
£25, one could argue that the practice of price fixing
exists in the PL to the detriment of supporters of the
larger clubs."

"As the FAPL have repeatedly confirmed that such practices
are in breach of League rules, we request they - or the OFT
- undertake an immediate investigation"