Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy “hated the idea” of a £30 cap on away tickets for fans, according to leaked emails published by Der Spiegel.
The Times, citing the German weekly news magazine’s latest revelations from the Football Leaks documents, reveal how the Spurs chief reacted to a warning from ex-Premier League chief Richard Scudamore in 2016 over the the proposed cap.
In the build-up to the March 2016 meeting in which the 20 top-flight teams reached an agreement on the £30 figure, Scudamore emailed the clubs, saying: “No amount of charity giving or the deployment of slick PR can make up for the reputation we have garnered, fairly or unfairly, in the court of public opinion, of being greedy b******* and not giving two hoots for the fans.”
In response, Levy emailed the executives of the other members of the “big six” – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and the two Manchester clubs as well as Spurs, saying: “Happy to do a call with us 6 . . . I personally hate the idea.”
OPINION
This latest, fascinating Football Leaks revelation demonstrates two things; Levy does not always get his own way and how the big six are in cahoots over various issues. Less favourably as far as Tottenham are concerned, their long-standing chairman comes across as cold and disinterested in slashing the costs of travelling supporters. Spurs’ PR team have cranked into action and claim, “as a club we absolutely supported assisting away fans — however we had proposed our preferred method for supporting away fans which related to assisting with travel costs.” Quite what Levy and the club have against a £30 price cap is unclear. Surely, it can only be because the clubs lose out financially? It was reinstated for a further three years this month and has been broadly welcomed as a sensible solution to ensuring matchday attendances are as high as they can be, with the knock-on effect of enhancing the atmospheres of which away supporters play such an integral part. Credit to Scudamore for putting the squeeze on the Premier League elite, as well as Levy and company in their place.