Man City has "returned close to a third" of its allocation for Sunday's Premier League match at Arsenal, "after supporters balked at the £62 ($99) ticket price," according to Ewan Murray of the London GUARDIAN. Man City was "given a 3,000 allocation but 912 were sent back and are being sold by Arsenal." The match at the Emirates, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, "is classed as Category A and therefore carries the highest ticket cost for Arsenal's Premier League games." Arsenal's own supporters "have become increasingly vocal about pricing." Man City Supporters Club General Secretary Kevin Parker said, "It's the most expensive amount I can ever remember paying for a ticket in my life, for a Sunday afternoon game which is live on satellite television." He added: "It just shows that football clubs are out of touch with reality. If City supporters are travelling on a supporters' club coach it will cost £30 ($48) per person. That's £92 ($148) before they have even done anything; add in a programme, food, drink and you are looking at £125-£130 ($200-$209) per person." Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis defended the entry costs last October by saying: "We've seen ticket prices rise across the game. This isn't just a football issue. If you look at the prices of entertainment across the board they have gone up significantly in recent years, and clearly we now have an environment where people are economically challenged" (GUARDIAN, 1/8).
