Aberdeen FC’s ticket office manager has said he is “genuinely sorry” for the issues encountered by Dons fans trying to buy tickets for next month’s Viaplay Cup final.
The Dons confirmed on Friday that a “small number” of tickets for the December 17 final against Rangers have been “deactivated and refunded” after Aberdeen fans raised concerns they could have been bought by rival supporters.
The Reds sold out an initial batch of 17,000 tickets for the showdown at Hampden – from a total allocation of 19,500 tickets – within hours.
But many Aberdeen season ticket holders and AberDNA members were left unhappy by the decision to quickly move tickets on to general sale which meant some of club’s most-committed fans were unable to secure briefs for their team’s first cup final in five years.
It is understood the number of refunds issued by the club was around 200.
Frustrated & disappointed that my error has caused such disruption & fallout this week. Its a rule I've set on the system for online sales so many times I've lost count, and i know the importance of it.
To all Dandies who have been affected by this I am genuinely sorry.
1/3— Jamie Howell (@JamieHowell89) November 19, 2023
Dons ticket office manager Jamie Howell wrote on social media: “Frustrated and disappointed that my error has caused such disruption and fallout this week.
“It’s a rule I’ve set on the system for online sales so many times I’ve lost count, and I know the importance of it.
“To all Dandies who have been affected by this I am genuinely sorry.
“There’s obviously never a good time for this to happen, but a national Cup Final when I’m on paternity leave is up there with the worst.
“We’ll continue the work on this and the waiting list for additional tickets so that we can all look forward to our first final since 2018.
“Very thankful to my amazing ticketing team as well as the fantastic people around the club who have helped with the checks and processes to get back on track, especially John Chalmers (ticket office assistant manager at AFC) and (chief executive) Alan Burrows. Also very grateful to have such an understanding and supportive wife and family.”
One Dons fan replied: “Everyone senior at Aberdeen has apologised. No one should be thrown under the bus.
“A club we all love. The ticketing team always helpful, I’m sure you’ll help as many of us as possible for their ticket to the final.”
