MP calls for independent football regulator to play role in setting ticket prices

Labour MP Ian Byrne urged the government to ‘tackle the issue of the pricing out of working class supporters’ from football games

Labour MP Ian Byrne wants the independent football regulator to monitor ticket pricing (Getty Images)

An MP has called for the independent football regulator to play a role in setting ticket prices for games to avoid working-class fans from being priced out.

Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, has submitted two amendments to the Football Governance bill, which is looking to introduce an independent regulator to oversee the top five tiers of English football. The new role is intended to ensure clubs are run in a financially sustainable way and to allow fans greater influence in the game.

One of those amendments, if passed, would create a role for the regulator in decisions over ticket pricing for games, while the other would give the regulator powers to regularly review prices for concessionary tickets “to ensure that loyal younger and older fans are not priced out”.

Byrne, himself a Liverpool fan, said: “We need to tackle the issue of the pricing out of working class supporters.

“Of those announced, the majority of prices for 2025-26 have been frozen at Premier League clubs, but that has only happened following a concerted and co-ordinated effort by fan groups, led by the Football Supporters’ Association.

“Despite the news that prices are frozen, the reality is that those prices are already too high, especially for younger fans. Thousands of young working-class supporters were priced out of Anfield [as Liverpool won the title on Sunday], as some tickets were going for over £1,000.

“It remains of great concern that we are seeing a gradual reduction in season ticket and general admission numbers in favour of a growing number of hospitality and one-off admissions, at prohibitive costs for the regular fan.”

Byrne was speaking at a House of Commons debate during the bill’s second reading. The second reading was approved by a majority of 272 on Monday evening and it will be further scruitinised at a late stage. It has already cleared the House of Lords, making its eventual passage as a law more likely.

Several clubs, including Manchester United, have looked to cut down on season tickets to make room for expensive hospitality seating packages. Some seats next to the home and away dugouts at Old Trafford are set to be converted into hospitality seats for next season, causing outcry among long-serving fans.

Liverpool have frozen prices for the past eight out of 10 years, with the most expensive Kop ticket £45, although prices can be considerably higher on resale sites. Touts advertised tickets for Liverpool’s title-winning match against Tottenham at Anfield this weekend for up to £3,000, according to The Athletic.

“We cannot allow the greed of some owners with no idea of how important [the] working class game is to the very communities that it should always serve,” Byrne added.

The government’s preferred candidate to fill the new post is David Kogan, a media executive, business leader and corporate advisor.