Town have reacted to supporters' concerns over the large number of West
Ham fans present in home sections of the crowd on Saturday. TWTD received email galore on the subject with fans particularly upset that certain seats, mainly in the Cobbold Stand, seem to have been occupied by away supporters at every home game so far. The club are clearly aware of these concerns with director of communications Alesha Gooderham telling TWTD: "We are aware of quite a number of West Ham fans in the ITFC areas and a number who were behaving in an unacceptable manner were removed. Upon investigating their tickets and tracing them back to the original purchaser from ITFC the majority are Ipswich Town fans handing/selling them to friends who are supporters of the visiting club."
Policing opposition fans encroaching into home sections is a difficult business - most Town fans only became aware of the West Ham fans on Saturday when the Hammers scored their goal. The club says they will only act if a supporter misbehaves, regardless of club. Alesha told us: "Only when a supporter, whether it be Ipswich Town or the visiting club, behaves out of order then regardless of their colour of scarf they should be removed. If we look back at the First Division we also had a number of visiting fans peppered amongst Town fans who were guests of our own supporters and this was never a problem. Clearly if you invite a friend or sell on your ticket you are responsible for that person’s behaviour. So we are urging supporters to think carefully before selling on or passing on their ticket for a particular match. What we will not accept is poor behaviour which infringes on the enjoyment of other supporters."
A fair point perhaps, but with Town tickets so scarce should not more be done to discourage away supporters from using seats designated for Town supporters? Some of the grounds we have visited this season have warnings emblazoned clearly across tickets stating that you will be removed if you are an away supporter in the home sections.
The lending of season tickets is something that is always going to
happen, although it does seem that some supporters are 'lending' their season tickets on a rather too regular basis, with some fans asking whether touts may have got hold of some of the much sought after season tickets. However, there may be an explanation for this, although perhaps not one that will be entirely appreciated by all fans, Alesha again: "Some people who have more than one ticket use one to bring friends or clients as part of their customer relationship building. There are numerous scenarios, but we must not get wrapped up in a situation where if someone wears a different colour scarf we react as though they are the enemy - that is not the spirit of Ipswich Town. Some Town fans are actually dual supporters of the visiting club, I know one particular ITFC fan who has held his season ticket for 8 seasons, however he grew up with Arsenal as 'his' club but as he lives in Ipswich and enjoys football, he comes and supports ITFC. The fact that he wore an Arsenal shirt does not mean we would remove him, as he sat and watched the match without any problem. The difference is if an incident occurs. Then our supporters are urged to tell their nearest steward at the time and not wait until the end of the game, we must be made aware so we can act."
Whilst agreeing with the sentiment that we must not see anyone of a scarf of another colour as an enemy, we feel that the issue is more the lack of seats for Town fans being reduced further with their use by away fans.
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