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Dear Roker Report,
I’m a wheelchair user who regularly attends away games and has done so for many years.
This season, Sunderland AFC have changed their approach to away ticket sales for wheelchair supporters.
Even when wheelchair-accessible tickets are still available, they’re not being sold once the general away allocation for non-disabled supporters has “sold out.” I’ve been told this is because allowing wheelchair supporters to buy these tickets would be “unfair on other supporters.”
Wheelchair allocations are already
extremely limited.
For example, an away allocation of around 2,500 tickets may include as few as sixteen wheelchair spaces. From years of attending away games, I know these wheelchair allocations rarely sell out and a clear example is Oxford away this season.
After tickets sold out in Phase Two, I was refused a wheelchair ticket despite eight of the thirteen wheelchair spaces still being available at the time. This is a noticeable change from previous seasons in League One and the Championship, where wheelchair supporters were still able to purchase available wheelchair tickets even after the general allocation had sold out.
The current policy results in wheelchair spaces being left empty while disabled supporters are excluded from attending matches. I believe this raises serious questions around accessibility, fairness and equal access for Sunderland supporters.
Niall Taylor
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Niall. Thank you for your letter.
This is clearly an extremely important issue and it’s unfortunate to hear that you weren’t able to be accommodated for the FA Cup game at Oxford — a game during which everyone should’ve been given the chance to support the team on the road.
Without knowing the exact ins and outs of why this policy has seemingly been changed and any possible logistical reasoning, what I will say is that the club certainly has a duty of care to all fans and moving forward, it’s imperative that nobody is excluded or made to feel unwelcome or a burden. That’s the very last thing that our club should stand for.
Dear Roker Report,
I think I’d better stop reading other Sunderland fans’ posts and blogs, because some of the rubbish I’ve read about us suddenly being in a relegation fight is ridiculous!
As I’ve said before, we have enough class in the team to finish the season pretty comfortably. The plan at the start was to avoid relegation and we’ve nearly done that, plus we might have a nice cup run on the go.
I’ll say it again: Keep the faith ‘til the end — and FTM forever!
John Robson
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, John. Thank you for getting in touch.
Perhaps it’s a result of the scars left by what happened almost a decade ago, but until we reach the much-discussed total of forty points (and possibly forty two, just to be absolutely certain) I wouldn’t criticise any Sunderland fan for being a little edgy.
Of course, we have what feels like a good run of games coming up, during which we’ve got an excellent chance of picking up the six points we’ll possibly need, so let’s see what happens, and hopefully the Lads can get back to winning ways in the league against Fulham on Sunday!
