Sky Sports have forced Arsenal to move their final home game of the season against Burnley to a Monday night, demonstrating once again that they don’t care at all about match going fans.
Arsenal v Burnley, the Gunner’s final home game of the season, will now kick-off at 8pm on Monday 18 May.
I booked flights and a hotel months ago. Knowing the game could be moved, I booked to come over on the Friday and head home Monday lunchtime. I thought that would cover all possible changes. I was wrong.
I’m not the only one.
Others have school and work on the Tuesday [Max Dowman?], with GCSEs underway, so won’t be able to go to a match that will finish close to 10pm. Then, there’s the lap of appreciation, which many fans won’t be able to stay for because they won’t be able to get home.
And that’s not even factoring in the Burnley fans who have to travel 232 miles to get home and then get up for work in the morning.
None of it matters to Sky or the Premier League.
The Arsenal Supporter’s Trust said of the move, “This timing creates clear difficulties for both sets of supporters, particularly those travelling or relying on public transport, and increases costs and disruption. As the final home game of the season, it also means the traditional lap of appreciation will not take place until around 10pm, making it less accessible for many fans.
“We did engage with Arsenal ahead of the most recent broadcast deal, recognising that clubs, including Arsenal, play a role in approving these agreements and asking that it give greater weight to the impact on supporters of games being moved. While we understand the significant financial benefits involved and how they support the club’s growth, we would urge both Arsenal and the Premier League to do more so that scheduling better reflects the needs of match-going supporters.”
In other fixture news, as Arsenal get ready to play three fixtures in the next seven days, Man City, who have nine days between fixtures this week, are crying that they will have to play three in seven soon.
According to the Guardian, “Manchester City have been left angered by what they deem to be an end-of-season fixture pile-up that could have been avoided had the Premier League acted quicker to rearrange matches.”
The Guardian added, “City had also proposed playing Bournemouth on Thursday 21 May to allow for a longer recovery period after the FA Cup final and thought the Premier League was receptive. Ultimately it was not with it understood that the Premier League wanted to wait until the conclusion of last weekend’s FA Cup semi-finals to confirm fixture rearrangements in order to give certainty to supporters.”
As 1.76 Acres said on Bluesky, “City are the richest, most privileged, most dishonest club on Earth. So it only makes sense that they also think they are victims deserving of special treatment.”
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