Hundreds of Latics' fans were locked out of the club’s relegation fight at Gigg Lane on Saturday due to a mix up over safety fears. The Bury chairman claimed the ground’s away end was full before kick-off and decided to close the gates even though more than 300 away supporters were queued up outside the ground.
Latics chairman Simon Corney was rightfully disgusted with the situation and commented, “It is not right, it is poor. You have to question what has gone on. Whether Bury selling tickets on the day was the right thing, or whether police who are sometimes quick to blame clubs have done their job properly, I am sure there will be a proper investigation. I am sorry for any trouble it has caused.”
An official statement from Bury FC declared, “We are extremely disappointed to see supporters turned away. We shall be meeting with the club’s safety department and the police to ascertain what went so badly wrong.” Bury commercial director, David Manchester, tried to justify the decision by saying that it was difficult to estimate the number of Athletic fans who would travel. He said, “I think they sold 900 tickets and suddenly more than 2,000 turned up. You can’t legislate for that.”
Going off the past history of the meetings between the clubs, and especially as it was a relegation decider, the Bury officials got it totally wrong. In the week of the build up to the game, Bury FC were pleading for donations of £1,000,000 to stop the club from going out of business. With this bit of nonsensical business it is no wonder they are struggling financially. To turn away so many cash paying fans is lunacy taken to the extreme and, with Bury FC blaming the police and vice-versa, surely an FA inquiry should be undertaken to ensure that similar incidents are never repeated at another ground. No wonder fans are drifting away from the game!