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Jul 2021

Last Updated: 24/07/2021

Community

Fans barred from Harrogate Town match vs Sunderland due to safety fears

by Calvin Robinson

| 24 Jul, 2021

Town said it received a letter from a council safety group yesterday afternoon citing concerns just 24 hours before kick-off. Hundreds of Sunderland fans were due to travel for the match.

The Envirovent Stadium, Wetherby Road.

Harrogate Town’s pre-season friendly against Sunderland today will be played behind closed doors after county council safety officials raised concerns.

Just 24 hours before the match, the club said it received a letter from North Yorkshire County Council's safety advisory group informing them of issues which “made them uneasy”. No further details were revealed.

About 800 Sunderland fans were believed to have been due to travel south for the match at the EnviroVent Stadium

There are just two weeks to go until Town's first match of the season at home to Rochdale.

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It's another blow for Town supporters, who last week were denied the chance of watching their side play against Premier League Newcastle United’s first team after a covid outbreak forced Magpies manager Steve Bruce to send an under-23s team instead.

Town said supporters who bought a ticket for the Sunderland game would receive a full refund.

A Harrogate Town statement said:

“At just after 2pm on Friday 23rd July the club received a letter from North Yorkshire County Council safety advisory group who had identified a number of issues that made them uneasy about the match going ahead with a crowd.

“We are working with the SAG to address the points they have raised for future fixtures.

“All supporters who purchased a ticket for the fixture will receive a full refund.

“The fixture will be available to watch live free of charge via Sunderland AFC's official website.

“Anyone who had already purchased a stream at £10 via live.harrogatetownafc.com will be refunded.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused”

A Sunderland AFC statement said:

“SAFC understands that supporters will be extremely disappointed by this news and its last-minute nature, with many fans incurring considerable personal expense to put travel plans in place.

“We share this disappointment and will work closely with HTFC to ensure that all ticket holders receive a full refund as soon as possible.

“Following today’s update stating that supporters would no longer be permitted to attend the fixture, SAFC has taken the decision to stream the fixture on the SAFSee platform free of charge.

Supporters who have already purchased a streaming pass will also receive a full refund.”

County council officials said the club submitted a risk assessment and stewarding plan on Friday morning following safety concerns raised after the Rotherham United game on Wednesday night.

However, the authority said the assessment and plan was "unfortunately not sufficient". It added that "discussions continue to see what can be done to find a safe solution looking ahead".

Among the issues that needed to be addressed were medical support, stewarding and spectator safety, according to the council.

Matt O’Neill, assistant director for growth, planning and trading standards at NYCC, said:

“Together with partner agencies in the Safety Advisory Group we have pulled out all the stops to try to support the club to deal with a range of safety measures that had to be addressed to enable the match to go ahead.

“Safety standards are put in place to protect the spectators and ensure a safe match by the Sports Ground Safety Association (an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) and, as the public would expect, they must be met.

“We recognise that this will be disappointing for the fans who were looking forward to the friendly match against Sunderland AFC, especially after such a difficult last season due to covid restrictions. However, the safety of everyone entering the facility must come first.”

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Fans barred from Harrogate Town match vs Sunderland due to safety fears

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