Crystal Palace have vowed to take action against ticket touts if they uncover evidence, after a Manchester United supporter claimed to have bought paper tickets for an astonishing £700 — more than 20 times the Premier League-mandated away ticket cap of £30.
Although no official complaint has yet been submitted to the Premier League by Manchester United, there is reported frustration regarding the transparency of ticket distribution for the fixture at Selhurst Park.
United received an allocation of 2,687 tickets for the match, a number that surpasses the league’s minimum away allocation for a stadium of Palace’s 25,000 capacity.
According to The BBC, Palace withheld 40 extra tickets for internal distribution — a process the club considers standard and one the Premier League reportedly has no issue with.
The situation escalated when United fans alleged that two of these internally allocated tickets ended up being purchased for £700 in paper form. Palace maintain that all away tickets for United were issued digitally, but acknowledge that paper versions are occasionally required when technical problems arise.
Palace have privately committed to looking into the claims but insist that, so far, no misconduct has been found. United have not yet taken the matter to the league, though they plan to raise the concerns directly with Palace.
While the ticket dispute brewed off the pitch, United endured another frustrating outing on it, squandering a lead at Old Trafford and missing the chance to break into the Premier League’s top five.
A 1-1 draw with West Ham — who have won only once away from home all campaign — left Ruben Amorim visibly angered by his side’s lack of calmness and authority.
Diogo Dalot’s cleanly struck effort midway through the second half appeared to set United on their way to a vital win, only for Soungoutou Magassa to capitalise on poor set-piece defending late on.
The dropped points came on the heels of United’s shock loss to 10-man Everton in their previous home fixture, intensifying concerns over the team’s erratic performances. United were uninspired, predictable, and brittle under pressure, particularly with Bruno Fernandes unable to assert control.