Leeds United issue Southampton Elland Road ticket statement and reveal 'strongest' action

Fans have reacted angrily to the listing of tickets for the Championship season finale on May 4 on various resale websites, at prices ranging from £380 to £470. Leeds remain in the hunt for automatic promotion and though Saints suffered a damaging 5-0 defeat by leaders Leicester City on Tuesday night, the final game of the campaign could still hold huge consequences for either side's Premier League dream. Leeds supporters recently shared screengrabs on social media of their attempts to get their hands on a ticket, revealing an online queue of 25,000, so countless thousands will find themselves without a ticket for the clash, while Saints sold out their allocation.

Leeds have told the YEP that they are aware of the third party website issue and having already taken action, will continue to combat the unofficial reselling of match tickets. A club spokesperson said: “We are aware of tickets being sold on third party websites for our fixture against Southampton at hugely inflated prices and we encourage supporters to only purchase through official club channels. Our ticketing team are continuing to monitor the situation and a number of tickets for this match have already been cancelled without refunds, with bans also being issued. It is illegal to sell, offer to sell or transfer tickets to matches without the authorisation of the club and the strongest possible action will be taken against anyone found to be selling tickets through unofficial channels.”

Ticket pricing for the game has already made headlines in recent weeks, following complaints by Southampton supporters. Adults making the trip up from Southampton have paid £47 for their ticket, which is the same price that some Leeds fans pay to sit in the West Stand, where visitors are housed on matchdays. Leeds did offer every visiting club a reciprocal deal in order to lower away ticket prices in return for travelling Whites paying less for the return fixture. The Southampton Daily Echo report that Leeds offered a ticket price of £15, which the Saints rejected. Coventry City are among a handful of others who also knocked back Leeds' offer.

Whites CEO Angus Kinnear has said previously that the only real fix to the issue of high ticket demand at Elland Road is the expansion of the stadium, something the 49ers Enterprises have been working on behind the scenes without yet officially revealing their plans.