SEMI AT VILLA PARK
Last updated : 10 March 2004 By Editor
The FA have confirmed that the semi final will take place at
Villa Park as planned. Arsenal officials, worried about the
small capacity at Villa Park (although as one forumista
pointed out, if you took their ticket sales from the semi
final replay in 99 and added them to those of the charity
shield last year, you still wouldn’t sell out their
allocation at Villa Park) asked for the venue to be changed
to Cardiff.
However IMUSA sprang into action, and with the help of their
Arsenal counterparts, managed to convince the FA to leave
the match at Villa Park, although it now has a 12 o’clock
kick off on the Saturday.
“Given all the realistic options, this is welcome news,'
said Mark Longden, spokesman for the Independent Manchester
United Supporters Association. “Supporters of both Arsenal
and Manchester United were rightly concerned that decisions
were being taken without the input of the people who would
be most inconvenienced by the eventual outcome. It is the
fans who have to pay for their tickets, and they deserve to
be consulted on matters of this kind.”
Are you one of the many, many people who heartily
congratulate IMUSA every time something like this occurs and
yet never stumps up £5 to join? Just imagine what it would
be like at United without IMUSA. Rupert Murdoch would be in
control of the club, every time schemes such as this Cardiff
semi final abortion are thought up nobody would question
them and they’d go through, the priority away ticket
allocation scheme wouldn’t exist, the singing section
wouldn’t exist, the refund for Leverkusen tickets wouldn’t
have happened. Who does everyone turn to as soon as they
need representation in any matters? IMUSA. And yet so many
are glad to reap the benefits of their actions without
paying the measly sum of £5 a year to help keep them going.
For shame.
