Reality check could be just the ticket for Dons board

Aberdeen’s ticket allocation fiasco should be a lesson for board

IF prizes in football were given out for arguing over ticket allocations, Scotland would be world champions.

There’s nothing we like better in this country than a good old ding-dong about who should get what percentage of a stadium for their supporters when it comes to the business end of the cup competitions. This is particularly the case when one of the Old Firm sides takes on the ‘second tier’ of Scotland’s big clubs, such as Aberdeen, Hibs or Hearts.

If you haven’t been able to keep up with your ticket furores, such is the frequency of their eruptions, then the latest dust-up has been sparked by Aberdeen failing to sell their hard-fought allocation for their Betfred Cup semi-final against Rangers, shifting just 9000 tickets to date and having their quota cut from 20,300 to a little under 15,000 as a result. As if that wasn’t galling enough for the Aberdeen board, they had originally pushed for – and received – a larger share of the tickets after originally being given just 16,500.

It all rather leaves the Pittodrie club looking – excuse the pun – a little sheepish.

Their chief executive Duncan Fraser said at the time: “Our expectation would be a 50-50 allocation to start with.

“Historically, many years ago a group of Aberdeen supporters fought with the Scottish FA to ensure that Aberdeen received a 50-50 allocation.”

All of that effort may now be torn asunder as their fans didn’t back up the fighting talk from their boardroom. And now it will be difficult for the Aberdeen hierarchy to be taken seriously when they ask for half of the tickets for the final should they make it.

As it happens, my own belief has always been that when the two sides come to sit around the table and discuss their allocations, the starting point should be a 50/50 split. The key aspect of that argument for me is that Hampden is supposed to be a neutral venue, and as such, if real neutrality can be achieved then it is surely in the interests of fairness that clubs are given the chance to do so.

But the concept of fairness can only be applied when common sense is too. Aberdeen, in Scottish terms at least, are a well-supported side. But with home games at Pittodrie averaging a little under 17,000 over the course of last season, was it realistic to expect that they could bring over 20,000 to Glasgow on a Sunday evening for a semi-final?

Yes, they had around 40,000 at Celtic Park to witness their triumph over Inverness in the 2014 League Cup final, but the occasions aren’t comparable. The most obvious difference being that it was the final of the competition, and a more than realistic chance for Aberdeen supporters to see their team lift silverware for the first time since 1995.

Historically, semi-finals have regularly attracted crowds a shade over 20,000 in total, and sometimes that has included either side of the Old Firm. Each semi-final must be taken on its own merits, and clubs have to be realistic about what size of crowds they will bring.

The way that tickets were sold for last season’s semi-finals, with Hibs receiving a 50 per cent split of tickets for their game against Celtic in two sections of the North and South stand leaving a huge gaping saltire on show behind the goals, not only took some shine off the occasion, but no doubt left a bitter taste in the mouths of fans watching from the boozer when they would have happily ponied up the dough to attend.

Thankfully, tickets on this occasion have been redistributed to Rangers, and we should now get the full stadium and cracking atmosphere that befits the occasion.

Motherwell, who got to both of last season’s showpiece finals, are a different case to the likes of Aberdeen, in that there was very little prospect of them ever being able to sell out 50 per cent of the national stadium. Perhaps that made it easier for them to be magnanimous and give up some ground on their ticket demands.

I am all for clubs standing their ground and fighting for their supporters, but this whole experience may just be a hefty dose of realism for Aberdeen for the next time they come to barter at the Hampden negotiating table.

I am all for clubs fighting for the fans, but this whole experience may be a hefty dose of realism