Wolverhampton Wanderers chief executive Jez Moxey has reacted angrily to police demands that supporters travelling to South Wales for Wolves' FA Cup clash with Cardiff City must not travel independently.
South Wales Police and the Bluebird's Safety Advisory Group have decreed that supporters can only travel to the fifth round tie, which will kick off at 3pm, by official organised means of transport and Wolves fans will not be able to buy any of the 2,000 allocated tickets if they wish to travel in their own car, by rail or by bus.
Moxey condemned the order as 'unnecessary, unjustified and disproportionate'. He said: "We have tried everything possible to try to persuade South Wales Police to change their minds over this.
"We asked South Wales Police to consider different kick off times, or switching the match to the Sunday, which is the usual course of action if there are public disorder concerns.
"We have stressed the very good behaviour record of our fans, pointing to the fact that we have had approximately 29,000 supporters travel away with the team so far this season with no reports of public disorder or public safety issues. We have had 11 individuals arrested for minor offences.
"As part of our efforts, we forwarded supportive letters from West Midlands Police, The FA, and the Football Licensing Authority to Cardiff City and South Wales Police. However, we have been informed that our proposals and the accompanying letters have not been taken into account.
"We have received the rationale behind the decision made by South Wales Police and, to be honest, we feel it is weak and does not justify this action being taken.
"However, we are not responsible for public safety at Ninian Park- that is down to Cardiff City and their SAG which includes South Wales Police.
"We have considered our options, including declining all allocation of tickets for the game but, on reflection, decided that in the interest of our supporters and the team we should provide the necessary travel facilities even though in our opinion the restriction on supporters travelling independently is completely unjustified.
"It is now down to the individual supporters to decide whether they wish to travel under these restrictions. We are looking into the possibility of a beam-back to corporate areas at Molineux."
As a result of the order, Wolves will be laying on extra official club coaches to cater for the demand from supporters at cost price, and travelling fans will be asked to pay for a coach and match ticket together.
This will be issued with a voucher that will be exchanged for a match ticket once they have arrived at a designated rendezvous point outside Cardiff. Disabled fans will be exempt.
The club is also seeking clarification as to whether supporters who wish to travel from outside Wolverhampton can group book their own coaches or mini-buses and further details will be announced soon.
As a result of the cup tie, the home game against Scunthorpe United which was scheduled for next Saturday, February 16, has been moved to Tuesday, February 19, kick off 7.45pm.
Also, at the request of police, the home league game against Cardiff, which was to be played on Saturday, April 5, has been put back to Sunday, April 6 with a 1pm kick off time.
