St Johnstone v Rangers ticket row: Chairman Steven Brown accepts criticism
- Published
McDiarmid Park will have Rangers fans in three stands for the cup tie
Chairman Steve Brown admits "certain criticisms" of St Johnstone's ticket policy for the Scottish Cup tie against Rangers "have merit" and the club "understands" if fans boycott the game.
Saints are giving up three of their four stands to the visitors for the fourth-round game at McDiarmid Park.
Ticket prices have been increased to £30 for adults and £20 for concessions.
Brown said fans can be "absolutely assured" their reaction to the ticket policy will be heeded "going forward".
Fans groups have expressed their anger, external with the decisions and a small number of Saints fans is expected in the one stand of their home ground they have been allocated.
There are suggestions it could be the lowest turnout of St Johnstone fans, external in modern times, with as few as 300 tickets reportedly having been sold five days before the match.
The prices for individual matches usually range from £23 up to £30 while season tickets can be as low as £325 for an adult - or £260 when accompanied by a child under 12 - and just £80 for someone aged under 20.
Some season ticket holders have also had to give up their usual seats, given home fans are restricted to the Main Stand.
Brown said "the club is aware of the views of various sections of fans both from social media activity and press reports", but did not apologise for the decisions as he responded to supporter frustration around Saturday's game (17:30 GMT).
"The seating arrangements and pricing have been met with a huge amount of negativity and hostility from a number of our valued fans," he added in a statement, external.
"The decisions made in respect of this tie were taken with the best interests of the club at heart. However, we totally understand the frustration our supporters feel and their level of disappointment.
"On reflection, the club accepts certain criticisms levelled against the decisions have merit and going forward the club will take this feedback into account in considering both pricing and seating arrangements in future fixtures. Our supporters can be absolutely assured of this.
"Whilst we hope to see as many of our supporters as possible inside McDiarmid Park to support Callum and the players in this important cup tie, we understand and respect our supporters who choose not to attend on this occasion."
Manager Callum Davidson - who guided Saints to a Scottish Cup final win in 2021, beating Rangers at Ibrox on the way - says he understands the anger of St Johnstone supporters.
"I sat down with the chairman on Monday for a couple of hours, talking to him about the football side and we had a chat about off-the-pitch things and he is flat about the whole thing," he said.
"Creating this level of anger and frustration is something he obviously didn't want to do and so he is pretty flat about it.
"I understand the supporters. I played at McDiarmid Park, I have been assistant manager and manager and the backing they gave us, especially last season, was fantastic."
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