The Pompey Supporters’ Trust have met twice with the club and Hampshire Police this month to discuss policing arrangements for the forthcoming South Coast derby fixtures.
We recognise that there are different views on how best to police these fixtures, and that fans’ individual freedom to travel to games needs to be balanced with the need to ensure the safety of matchgoing fans and to reduce the impact on the wider local community.
Following the decision made jointly by both clubs to require away supporters to travel on club coaches and to collect their tickets on board, we raised concerns about how this would impact matchgoing fans, particularly those that live near to St. Mary’s Stadium who would be forced to make unnecessarily long journeys to a fixture close to their homes.
We’re pleased that, following these meetings with supporter groups, the clubs will mitigate the impact on fans by giving supporters a choice of pick-up locations, rather than just one as was previously used for ‘bubble’ fixtures.
We’ve also been reassured that appropriate arrangements will be made for disabled supporters who may have difficulty boarding coaches, and that pick-up locations used will have adequate parking and toilet facilities.
We will continue to work alongside the club and Hampshire Police in the lead up to these fixtures to ensure the best possible matchday experience for Pompey supporters.