Chesterfield set to be backed by bumper away following at York City - but Minstermen fans are 'fuming'

The Spireites travel to the LNER Community Stadium on Friday, March 29 (3pm).

Town are likely to already be promoted by the Good Friday clash but that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for the trip north against the relegation strugglers.

Blues fans snapped up all 1,500 tickets in the North Stand in just one hour on Monday morning and the Minsterman have been generous in announcing that they are also giving them the entire West Stand, which means Chesterfield will have two sides of the stadium. Those tickets will go on sale in due course.

To accommodate the Spireites fans, York City supporters in the West Stand have been told they will have to move which, as you can imagine, has not got down well at all considering the Minstermen are in a relegation battle and will need all the backing they can get.

York City said in a statement: “To maximize the demand required for the home match against Chesterfield, the entirety of the West Stand will now house away supporters.

“Home supporters who have purchased tickets / have a season ticket in the stand are politely requested to now exchange their seat for the game.

“The club made the decision last year to continue to use West Stand blocks WF-I for away supporters on a more regular basis, which was communicated at the time.

“Based on last season’s data for away attendances, the club guaranteed in the summer that no more than three games would be affected. So far this season, the option has not been taken at all.

“Any impact on West Stand season ticket holders is seen as the absolute last resort decision, but with Chesterfield selling 1,500 tickets in just one hour, the decision has been made to mitigate the possibility of away supporters purchasing in the home end.”

They added: “The club has moved now to ensure that this is communicated as early as possible with West Stand season ticket holders, and match ticket purchasers, to provide the option to move immediately.

“As per the agreement set out at the start of the season, a free ticket for the next suitable fixture will be provided to West Stand season ticket holders who may bring a guest.

“A decision has also been made following discussions regarding pay on the day and the demand anticipated. The game is now flagged as an all-ticket fixture, meaning supporters must purchase before the day of the match. There will be no tickets available to purchase on the day.”

York City fans have reacted angrily to the decision.

@hollycrane said: “Announcing this on twitter before informing season ticket holders in the West Stand is awful. So disappointing not being able to sit in our own seats.”

@MickCordukes wrote: “I can take the team being crap, the owners making mistakes but telling our loyal season ticket holders to move so you can make a bit more from the away fans is out of order. The club is going from bad to worse.”

@DN9_Minsterman added: “If I was a season ticket holder in the West Stand I'd be fuming.”

@lotslottie16 posted: “Since when was it appropriate for season ticket holders to be binned off for away fans? Joke of a club.”

@nunthorpeboy2 said: “What an absolute bloody disgrace this club is. What a way to treat season ticket holders. You've lost my season ticket money for next season.”