Brighton fans join growing revolt over TV ‘profiteering’ by boycotting pay-per-view games and donate their £14.95 box office charge to food-banks
- Brighton & Hove Albion are due to take on West Bromwich Albion on Monday
- Fans need to pay £14.95 in order to watch the match due to pay-per-view games
- However fans will boycott the service and send the money to food-banks instead
- Around £120,000 has already been raised by supporters around the country
Fed-up Premier League supporters have raised tens of thousands of pounds for food banks after boycotting pay-per-view games and the protest will continue when Brighton and West Brom meet.
‘Fans Supporting Foodbanks’ has been set up jointly by Liverpool and Everton supporters’ groups Spirit of Shankly and Blue Union and has urged fans to donate their £14.95 box office charge to help feed those in need.
There is widespread anger at the decision of the Premier League to sell matches through Sky Sports’ and BT Sport’s Box Office on top of the usual subscription.
Brighton fans join growing revolt over TV ‘profiteering’ by boycotting pay-per-view games
The broadcasters are refusing to reveal the number of people who are watching PPV games but are understood to be unhappy about the experiment. Perhaps tellingly, the announcement of the latest batch of live matches for November did not mention PPV.
Every Premier League club bar Leicester voted for the change. When Manchester United and Newcastle faced each other, Toon fans donated £16,000 for hungry families instead of paying.
Leeds fans did the same when they played Aston Villa.
Around £120,000 has been raised from around the country.
Brighton & Hove Albion are due to take on West Bromwich Albion on Monday at 5:30pm
The Premier League is charging fans £14.95 to access the new pay-per-view service
Ahead of tonight’s clash with West Brom, fans’ site We are Brighton appealed: ‘Taking the lead of other Premier League supporters, we are asking Brighton fans who wish to boycott to instead donate £15 to a local food bank.
‘For them to somehow try to justify charging £15 per game for fans to watch their own club is profiteering, exploitation, and a step too far, even for organisations who have long taken fans for granted.’
Forward Danny Welbeck could make his Brighton debut following his arrival from Watford on a one-year deal. Skipper Lewis Dunk begins a three-game ban after his red card against Crystal Palace.
Brighton head into the contest with four points from their five Premier League games.
West Brom have only two from five games so far.
Around £120,000 has already been raised by supporters around the country joining the revolt