John Swinney open to £25 cap on Scottish football matches
The SNP’s sports minister has also been asked to attend a summit on democratising football.
John Swinney said he is open to the idea of introducing a £25 cap on football match tickets.
He also said his Sports Minister Maree Todd would attend a summit on democratising football in Scotland if needed.
Mr Swinney’s comments were in response to a question from Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay in the Scottish Parliament.
She said: “There is often very little that unites football fans but in recent weeks supporters of Celtic, Motherwell and Falkirk have displayed banners backing my calls for a £25 cap on away tickets, all backed by the supporters’ collective.
“Football is meant to be for everyone, but when the cost-of-living is rising, there are fans being priced out of attending.
“There are already price caps in England and other European countries.
“We know how important attending games is. Clubs would be nothing without their fans.”
Mr Swinney said he was happy to give consideration to the issue, and agreed it was important fans are able to enjoy the experience of watching football.
A £30 cap has been in place for over a decade in England, and there are similar caps on Europa and Champion’s League matches, but no such cap exists in Scotland.
Ms Mackay added: “Around 120,000 people will attend games over the weekend, but we currently have a system where fans struggle to have their voices heard and at a national level this is even more difficult.
“Whether it is ticket prices or fan ownership, we need to bring our sport closer to the people who make it what it is.
“In the months ahead I plan to host a summit with supporter groups from across the country to discuss how we democratise Scottish football at every level and make it truly for the fans.”
She then asked Mr Swinney to attend this summit - in response, Mr Swinney said the sports minister would attend if necessary.
He said: “The government has already held discussions on many of these issues about fan ownership and engagement and good examples from around the country which have delivered significant results for participation in sports.”
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