Ticket prices for next month's FA Cup final have smashed through the £100 barrier for the first time, sparking outrage among supporters.
Final insult: Tickets prices for the FA Cup final, which could feature Wayne Rooney if Man Utd beat Man City this weekend, have soaredPrices for the most expensive tickets to English football's end-of-season showpiece will cost £115, an increase of 22% on last season, despite the financial crisis gripping the nation.
Fans of semi-finalists Manchester United, Manchester City, Bolton and Stoke will travel to Wembley this weekend, and the followers of two of those sides will be expected to make the journey again next month, hitting them hard in the pocket.
Kevin Parker, secretary of the Manchester City Supporters' Club, said: 'If you can afford £115 for what will be our first FA Cup final since 1981, you will pay it but the reality is some people just can't afford it. Paying that amount of money for an FA Cup final, three weeks after a semifinal at Wembley, is a rip-off.
'The FA are not considering what this game is about. With tickets at that price, it's not for the fan in the street any more. I hope I'm worrying about the strain on my credit come Saturday night but there will be those who can't afford it because we're not talking about one ticket. It's two, three or four for the family.
'City didn't sell their allocation at Liverpool on Monday because people are scrimping to go to the semi-final.'
Semi-final tickets were priced from £30 to £60. City, United and Stoke have sold their 32,000 allocation but Bolton have about 5,000 left. The two finalists will receive 25,000 tickets each.
Pete Shaw, of United fanzine Red News, said: 'Sadly, the price rises aren't a surprise but they are scandalous. We read lots about the affordability of prices for the semi and then the sucker punch for whoever qualifies. Add hotel, travel, food and drink and you may as well call it the cost of a holiday.
'Prices at Wembley for food and drink are ridiculous, too. Every year fans face increases to fund the black hole of Wembley finances. How many more years until Wembley is paid off?'
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has criticised the continued staging of FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, though there is no prospect of them being moved because they form a key part of the plan to pay for the £750m stadium.
Ferguson predicts 'absolute chaos' when four North West clubs hit the capital on the weekend of the London Marathon when Arsenal also play Liverpool in the League.
'There will be 60,000 coming down from Manchester, think how much petrol is used,' Ferguson said. 'I don't think the cost is considered.'
The Football Association pegged their top ticket prices at £95 for the first four FA Cup finals after Wembley re-opened in 2007 but have hiked them by £20 for the May 14 final. The cheapest tickets are £45, up £5 on last year.
The FA pride themselves on being a not-for-profit organisation and pour all surplus income back into the grass roots. An FA spokesman said: 'Our ticket price structure is in line with other major sporting events held in the country every year. Prices for this weekend's semi-final ties have not changed despite the increase in VAT.'
Tickets for the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28, fixed by UEFA, are even higher than for the FA Cup final, ranging from £80 to £300.
Shaw said: 'If - and it's a big if - we (United) get through to both finals, you'd be talking nearly a month's wages for tickets, to stay down and go out before and after. How mad is that?'
HISTORIC FA CUP TICKET PRICES Date Game Ticket cost (at today's prices) Source: Daily Mail April 28, 1923 Bolton 2 West Ham 0 £6.34 May 2, 1953 Blackpool 4 Bolton 3 £3.64 May 1, 1965 Leeds 1 Liverpool 2 £5.41 May 6, 1972 Arsenal 0 Leeds 1 £9.84 May 14, 1981 Tottenham 3 Manchester City 2 £9.48 May 11, 1996 Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1 £49.35 May 19, 2007 Chelsea 1 Mancester United 0 £86.40