King's Lynn's price increase is sad, says Poppies chairman Mahoney

The Poppies chairman spoke out after his Linnets counterpart Stephen Cleeve confirmed the match on April 2 will be a ‘Category B’ fixture, which means fans will be charged £15 to watch the Evo-Stik South League Premier encounter instead of the normal £12.

The decision prompted a strong reaction from Poppies supporters on social media with some even threatening to boycott the fixture between two sides who are on course to secure play-off places.

King’s Lynn also charged £15 for the recent home clash with title favourites Hereford.

And while Mahoney understands that balancing the books is “hard” for every club, he believes King’s Lynn could end up losing out even if the Poppies fans do travel in numbers.

“Personally I think it’s sad that King’s Lynn have taken this decision and whilst the goal is to increase revenue on the day, you can actually see the opposite happening,” Mahoney said.

“I have total sympathy with both sets of fans and understand that some of our supporters have already decided that whilst they will attend, they won’t arrive at the club until shortly before kick-off and won’t be spending any extra funds on drinks, food or matchday programmes.

“So while King’s Lynn will get their £15, they won’t be getting a lot more.

“Making the books balance in our league is hard and having a varied pricing structure for matches isn’t new but can this price really be justified at our level?

“I’m expecting a few interesting chants come matchday!”

The first match between the two clubs this season was at Latimer Park on New Year’s Day with the Poppies coming out on top by a 1-0 scoreline.