Bluebirds fans may be forced to give up seats

CARDIFF City season ticket holders have been told they could have to give up their seats for the visit of promotion-chasing Newcastle United in the season’s penultimate fixture.

The Bluebirds’ final home fixture is set to be shown live on Sky Sports but Newcastle are still expected to take a large travelling support with the hope of celebrating promotion.

The fixture was recently moved to Friday 28th April (7.45) to accommodate television arrangements.

And to accommodate the travelling Magpies, Cardiff City season ticket holders have received a letter telling them they could have to sit elsewhere in the ground.

Newcastle have been allowed to sell up to 6,000 tickets for the penultimate game of the season with an initial allocation of 3,400.

The letter read: “The demand for away tickets for this fixture could greatly exceed the capacity available in our normal away section and with capacity available around the ground there is legitimate concern over away fans buying tickets in home areas for what could be a crucial fixture for our visitors.

“Discussions have therefore been held with the Safety Advisory Group and South Wales Police and it has been decided to attempt to satisfy the demand for travelling supporters by potentially increasing the away ticket allocation from 2,200 to maximum of c6,000. The increase will be achieved by extending the away sector into blocks 123, and possibly 124 and (part of ) 125 of the Family Stand and we apologise that this contingency may result in your possible relocation for this fixture. Thank you for your ongoing support and trust you understand our rationale behind the decision that has been made in the best interests of public safety.”

The current record for away fans in domestic fixtures at the Cardiff City Stadium stands at around 4,000 and that was set by Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup semi-final 2nd leg in 2012. However, on that occasion Cardiff were obliged to offer a bigger allocation due to cup rules.

The standard allocation for away fans in the league is 2,200 but that has been extended in cases of high demand in the past with Aston Villa bringing 3,258 earlier this season.

Newcastle recently moved onto the next stage of sale for the trip to South Wales, removing loyalty point restrictions and they are still a while off meeting the maximum of 6,000 with weeks left until the game.

Supporters from the North East are set to descend upon Cardiff in their thousands, making the journey of more than 600 miles in hope of celebrating another instant return to the top flight.