Alan Shearer: Ex-England striker says fans should be rewarded

There should be no increase in ticket prices next season, according to former England striker Alan Shearer.

Thousands of Liverpool fans walked out of the game against Sunderland at Anfield on Saturday in protest at a £77 ticket in the new Main Stand next term.

It comes after the Premier League sold television rights in 2015 to its games for £5.14bn, kicking in from 2016-17.

"I do not think any fan in the country - at all - should be asked to pay more for tickets next season," said Shearer.

Speaking in his role as a pundit on BBC Match of the Day, he added: "With the TV deal that starts next season, if anything, fans should be rewarded for their loyalty.

"They should be getting them for £10 or £20 - fill the stadium up. Why not?"

Liverpool led 2-0 at the time of the walk-out after 77 minutes but ended up drawing the game 2-2.

Reds chief executive Ian Ayre highlighted the freeze or decrease in 64% of season ticket prices and 45% of match-day tickets.

"Liverpool didn't lose points because the fans left the stadium after 77 minutes," said Shearer. "Liverpool lost the points because they're very poor defensively.

"Having said all that, the club say that some tickets are cheaper next season."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes extra television revenue will be used to buy players rather than cut ticket prices to meet the rising cost of transfer fees and player wages.

"I believe the pressure on spending the money will become bigger and you cannot necessarily distribute the money to other people," he said.