Scotland fans are being fleeced and it’s got to stop.
Simple as that.
Don’t get me wrong, we live in a western, capitalist society where money makes the world go round and prices and services are dictated by supply and demand.
Watching Scotland against Georgia was supposedly deemed to be a ‘hot’ ticket and I can understand why the high heid yins at Hampden decided to slap a £35 price tag on the cheapest adult ticket at the weekend.
It doesn’t make it right, though.
And nor does it make it right to charge an exorbitant £50 rising to as much as £60 for an adult ticket for what is ultimately a friendly against England at Celtic Park on November 18.
Scotland fans, or at least the ones that I know, like to make a day of it when the Tartan Army take to the field.
Pre and post-match pints form part of the regular regime, as does the obligatory snack at half-time. Throw in the cost of getting to and from the ground, and you are talking a hefty sum for one afternoon or night’s entertainment. Particularly if said obligatory snack costs £4 odd, like the cheeseburgers at Ibrox on Saturday.
So it doesn’t take Rachel Riley to work out that typical families wanting to see and support Scotland in the so-called big games are being priced out.
I know many guys and girls who probably don’t like paying out as much as they do to follow Scotland, but they are big enough and old enough to weigh up if they can afford it and then part with their hard-earned cash. Not saying they are stupid or necessarily rolling in dough, but they have the disposable income at their, erm, disposal. And the decision about how much they spend on snacks or pre and post-match pints tend to become easier the more they drink, funnily enough.
But take that England game for example: suppose you do fork out the £60 for a North Stand ticket for the glamourous Vauxhall International Challenge Match? If so, there’s every chance you will have parted with £45 for the crucial Euro 2016 qualifier with the Republic of Ireland the Friday before that.
So that’s £105 before you even start effectively £105 spent for two games of football in the space of less than 100 hours, without adding the extras.
That’s bad enough. But when I bang on about supporters being fleeced I’m not only talking about your run-of-the-mill mainstream punter, I’m talking more about the fans who want to follow Scotland but, let’s face it, can’t really afford those sort of prices. The hard-working punters who would love to go to the games but, let’s face it, have other important aspects of their lives to worry about.
The guys and girls I referred to above don’t have kids to worry about, let alone bigger mortgages, debts. And they don’t face the real choice between heating and eating this winter that many people across Scotland will be presented with. But there are still plenty of folk out there who would love to watch Scotland, spend an afternoon away from their problems and embrace everything that is good about international football in the cauldron of Hampden, Ibrox or Celtic Park.
It is that sort of person who will immediately see the range of prices currently on offer and despair. They deserve better.
Or, at the very least, they deserve some sort of ticket package that makes going to watch Scotland an achievable aim.