SAINTS fan groups have criticised the Football Association for hiking ticket prices to their highest ever levels for the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley next month.

The groups join supporters’ trusts from fellow semi-finalists Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United in complaining over the cost of a seat at the last four clashes, which take place on the weekend of April 21-22.

The FA have kept the cheapest tickets at £30, but have increased the price on all others, including the most expensive Category A seats, which now cost £80, up £20 from last year.

Category B tickets are priced at £65 having been £50 in 2017, while Category C seats are £5 more expensive at £45 a go. 

Saints fanzine, The Ugly Inside, have ‘joined forces’ with fellow groups and published this joint statement.

“The decision to raise prices for the FA Cup semi-finals and finals to the highest levels ever defies belief,” it reads.

“The FA has secured record broadcast rights for the competition, there is a lucrative sponsorship deal in place, and attendances throughout the competition have been higher than in recent years.

“The FA itself is in better financial health than ever. So we cannot see the rationale for hiking prices.

“The FA could have tried to explain the reasoning to fans, but once again the people who are the lifeblood of the game, the paying customers, were not consulted or even given advance notice. Like it or lump it is the clear message.

“Supporters of all four clubs have already spent a fortune following their teams from round three onwards.

“Our reward for reaching the last four is price rises 10x the rate of inflation. The FA has taken this decision at a time when, by contrast, the Premier League has reduced the cost of away tickets to a maximum of £30.

“Freezing the lowest ticket price category is a token gesture that will benefit only a small minority of supporters.

“These price increases further illustrate the longstanding issue we have with the FA as both the regulator of the game as well as the worst offender when it comes to excessive ticket prices for fans. A concession discount of just £10 further compounds the issue.

“The price of football at the top level is already extortionate. This latest decision is nothing more than opportunistic exploitation of fan loyalty.

“We expect better from a body that claims to be the guardian of the game, especially in the oldest and most famous cup competition in world football.

“We wonder, too, how the FA’s commercial partners feel about being associated with such naked opportunism.

“The FA still has time to rethink. It should."

The statement was jointly written by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust, Manchester United Supporters' Trust, Chelsea Supporters' Trust and Southampton fan groups.

Andy Ambler, The FA’s director of professional game relations, explained the association’s decision to rise prices.

“The cheapest tickets for these matches will remain the same as in 2016 and 2017, £30 for the semi-finals and £45 for the Final,” he said.

“This season we made the decision to increase the price of some tickets in the stadium. This is the first time that we have raised the price of tickets for Emirates FA Cup semi-final and Final ties in three years.

“The Emirates FA Cup semi-final and Final are some of the most prestigious events in the sporting calendar and these new prices are in line with many of these events. “It’s always important to remember that The FA is a not-for-profit organisation where every pound and penny of profit is reinvested back into every level of football in England.

“If you’re buying a ticket for the semi-final or the Final you are directly investing in the future of the game in this country.”