Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has recently discussed the refunds which supporters of Newcastle United are demanding.
Recently, the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust (NUST) released a statement which called for fans who had pre-paid for season tickets to be given refunds by the club (per Chronicle Live).
It was stated in the NUST’s statement that the Toon should ‘start giving back’ money which had been paid by supporters while matches remain behind closed doors.
The statement also claimed that Newcastle are the only Premier League club still charging fans for matches that they are not allowed to attend and the club has racked up an estimated £7m from these payments.
In the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the statement from the supporters’ trust and aired his thoughts on it.
He said: “The position with regards to Newcastle is many Newcastle fans have signed up on long-term deals, so, the club has had money for some time.
“The club has said it’s going to refund monies which are due because matches didn’t take place at the end of last season, clearly fans have missed out already this season.
“Trying to pin the club down as to an actual date when these refunds are going to be made is proving to be impossible.
“The Newcastle United [Supporters’] Trust estimates that the club has around about £7m of their money sitting in the bank account at present. Then, of course, we come to the issue of pay-per-view.
“Now, Newcastle was one of the matches that was chosen for pay-per-view this weekend, so, fans have already paid for their season ticket, they don’t know when they’re going to get a refund and they’re expected to pay £14.95 on top. That is unfair.
“We look at other clubs in the Premier League, a lot of them have got their act together and they are accelerating the refunds and saying to fans, ‘It’s your money, it’s your choice’.”
TIF Thoughts on Kieran Maguire’s discussion regarding Newcastle United season ticket refunds…
As can be seen in what the football finance expert had to say, he evidently believes that it is “unfair” that the Toon have not been more forthright in their handling of the refunds when other clubs have.
Are you disappointed in the club's handling of the ticket refunds?
No, it's a difficult time
Yes, it's not good enough
In July, the club released a statement which detailed how fans could apply for refunds for unused tickets from the 2019/20 season (per Newcastle United).
However, following the NUST’s statement, it would appear there has been little movement with regards to refunds since then (per Chronicle Live).
Hopefully, supporters can get their money back before too much longer passes because, at the end of the day, they have paid for something which they have not been provided with.