Hibs have apologised to fans following ticket issues at the recent Molde FK match and the upcoming Betfred League Cup match against Ross County.
A statement on the club website read:”The club is aware of several ticketing issues faced by supporters in recent matches and we have been working to identify and address the causes of the issues.
“A large number of supporters had difficulty entering the game on Thursday night against Molde FK through no fault of their own.
“The cause has been identified as an error on our side. We apologise to those who suffered delays in entering the game and thank the majority who were patient and understanding while we rectified the issues on the day.
“The high volume and quick turnaround of cup games in recent weeks has caused a high level of work for club staff in general to manage. That being the case, standards have been below what supporters expect – we recognise that and are making efforts to make sure this does not continue.”
The club also responded to a proposed move by the singing section, who have been based in the Famous Five Upper, to the middle section of the Famous Five Lower as an experiment.
“We were made aware late on Monday night of plans by the singing section to move to the Famous Five Lower for Sunday’s match with Ross County.
“The Famous Five Lower is our designated family section – it has been for a number of years and we have no plans to change.
“For league matches the whole lower section is almost completely sold out with season ticket members. Ticket holders should only be family groups, and we normally have ticket rules in place both online and at the Ticket Office to ensure that anyone buying individual match tickets are part of a family group. Mistakenly, these rules were not implemented for Sunday’s match, which resulted in a small number of adult tickets being purchased for that section. We have paused ticket sales in this section and refunded supporters who have purchased non-family tickets in this section.
“We have worked well with the singing section on several projects since their mutually agreed move to the Famous Five in 2017. The atmosphere around the whole ground has been positive over the past few seasons, and we want to make sure that continues.
“The suggested move for Sunday’s game was made without any consultation with the club despite the fact that it is well established that the Famous Five Lower is a Family Section. To avoid doubt, we have no plans to change the use of this section of the ground. It is heavily populated with season ticket holders and we want to put a focus on our matchday experience for families and the next generation of supporters.
“We remain committed to engaging with all of our supporters, including the singing section and through our Safety Officer we have made a number of attempts in the last few weeks to communicate with this group.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
