Cherries Trust Comment On Newcastle Cup Rescheduling
On 12 December the decision to bring forward the EFL Cup game at Newcastle was announced over 4 weeks after the match date was released and just nine days before the game had been due to kick off on 21 December.
In its release announcing the change, AFC Bournemouth said; “AFC Bournemouth’s upcoming EFL Cup game with Newcastle United will kick-off 24 hours earlier due to planned NHS strike action on Wednesday 21st December….. Safety for players, staff, and supporters is the paramount concern for both clubs and local authority confirmed that even if private ambulance service provision was secured for the fixture, medical and safety protocols….. would need to be reviewed and redrafted with any new medical provider and presented to the Safety Advisory Group for approval.”
We understand that around 400 tickets were sold to AFCB fans. The vast majority opting to make their own travelling arrangement.
The release went on to confirm that ticket refunds would be available to those who could no longer travel but was silent on the matter of abortive travel costs incurred by fans due to the late notice.
As in previous circumstances, the club’s T&Cs are clear and there is no suggestion from either club that abortive costs will be covered on this occasion. Some fans may be able to recover these costs through their own travel insurance or credit card provider and we recommend that those affected retain their receipts and try these routes.
During discussions, the Club suggested that any supporters with disabilities who now find travel on the rescheduled date difficult should email the Club at disability@afcb.co.uk.
It is worth noting that there is a focussed review of the impact on travelling supporters of the late movement of fixtures for TV scheduling purposes. As part of that campaign we would ask that anyone affected in those particular circumstance to email us their experiences and details of costs so that we can feed into that campaign.
Cherries Trust are a voluntary, independent, not-for-profit organisation, relying solely on membership fees and donations to cover running costs. We are the only independent Supporters Trust for AFC Bournemouth.
