Anger as Plymouth Argyle fans with season tickets won't all be able to return to Home Park when it reopens

  • Watch Jacquie Bird's report


Angry Plymouth Argyle fans are asking the club to review its ticket allocation policy after thousands found out they won't be able to watch their team play when stadiums reopen.

On Saturday 5 December, fans will be allowed to watch League One Argyle play against Ipswich Town - but Home Park has been granted a capacity of 1,808 supporters.

Tickets for fixtures under the current restrictions have been allocated to people who bought season tickets first, leaving thousands who also bought season tickets upset they won't get to see the Green Army play.



Donna Hone, one of the disgruntled season ticket holders, told ITV News West Country: "What really concerns me is the future of the club if this is the stance they take. There are 4,000 really disappointed people and looking at social media, they are actually thinking - do we invest next season?"

She added: "It hurts, and of course I don't want that, this is a club I have grown up loving, my family love, and it's important they get it right."

Some fans will be allowed to return to home park on Saturday 5 December.

The decision to allow just over 1,800 fans into Home Park on Saturday follows approval from the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

Plymouth Argyle's fixture against Ipswich will be a 'test event' where only half of the stadium's usual capacity of 3,606 can attend.

Wendy Perring, who has tickets, said: "We're excited about going. I feel pretty bad that others aren't. I know family and friends that haven't got tickets and wish they were going.

"At the end of the day, hopefully, this will be the start of many more."



The partial return of fans is in line with Tier Two guidelines which came into force on Wednesday 2 December when England came out of a second coronavirus lockdown.

If Saturday's test event is a success, the club could be granted approval to increase fan capacity to 2,000. This is the government-sanctioned figure for fixtures.

Speaking to ITV News West Country, the club's CEO said: "It's not quite as simple as being able to say 2,000 can come one game and 2,000 can come for another."

Andrew Parkinson continued: "Even if we were going to do that, there's different social bubbles, different family bubbles. It would mean the stadium would have to be re-configured for every single game.

"That brings with it very logistical and practical problems..."

The club's website says: "While we are delighted to be able to welcome a proportion of our loyal season-ticket holders back to Home Park on Saturday, we are acutely aware of the disappointment felt by those who will only be able to join us through iFollow.

"The club continues to work with the EFL and other stakeholders to push for the capacity ceiling to lifted, and to be based against stadium capacity, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach."


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