The club has been made aware by a number of supporters and carried out its own internal investigations to identify several cases of ticketing abuse.
It is important to state that the vast majority of supporters support their club in an honest fashion week in and week out and we are always extremely grateful and humbled by your support. However, there are a minority that have been abusing the rules relating to:
- Fraudulently attempting to enter the stadium with concession tickets when they do not qualify for a concession
- Passing tickets that have been used already through the fence in the hope the system will allow multiple entries on one ticket
- Some season ticket holders entering the stadium and then passing the season card back out of the stadium to be used at a different turnstile
Our ticketing software produces a report of such season tickets that have attempted to enter the stadium several times after the initial entry specifying which turnstiles has been attempted and at what times before being refused entry at a different turnstile. Any season card holder whose card has been identified for suspicious activity will be contacted by the club in due course.
As mentioned in the Chairman’s notes on 11th September, the club relies heavily on the goodwill of several volunteers who give up their free time to support the club they love, together with our amazing supporters who hand over their hard earned cash week in week out, only for a minority to try and take advantage of the club and its loyal paying supporters.
Please note the club operates a zero tolerance policy against verbal and physical abuse of any kind towards any members of Hartlepool United staff. Any supporters who are found to be abusive towards club staff or officials directly or indirectly including social media will face the strongest of sanctions.
Thank you.