Mags owner urged to think of supporters
Fan group Toon For Change are urging Mike Ashley to show some goodwill towards Newcastle United supporters in a time of ‘national emergency’.
The group – part of a protest movement against Ashley’s running of the football club – want the United hierarchy to suspend season ticket direct debits for all fans who are already paying for next season, not knowing if this one will even get completed.
In a statement on Twitter, Toon For Change said: “We urgently call on @NUFC to suspend all season ticket direct debits.
“Fans should not be expected to pay whilst the country faces a national emergency.
“Thousands of fans have lost their income and suspending season ticket direct debits will give some relief in these difficult times.”
Many season ticket holders, who pay by direct debit, have already paid in full for the 2019/20 season. And their last payment, in March, is the first payment for the 2020/21 season.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have extended their training ground shutdown amid the ever-increasing coronavirus outbreak. The Magpies’ players were due to return to the club’s Benton training base on Monday – March 30 – but that has been knocked back to at least seven days after that, April 6. The original March 30 date was set when there was a presumption Premier League football could resume on the weekend of April 4, but that date has provisionally be pushed back to the end of April at the earliest.
United’s players have been sent away to self isolation with their own tailored training plans.