SWANSEA fans living in Cardiff say they are being treated like “criminals” ahead of Sunday’s South Wales derby.
The fixture has a history of violence — and policing restrictions mean that the majority of Swans supporters get tickets only if they travel to Cardiff on official club coaches.
Swansea fans are heading to Cardiff for the South Wales derby on SundayCredit: Alamy Live News
But Swans stalwart Tim Lewis, who lives a mile from the Cardiff ground, lost out on a ticket that would let him go independently to the game.
So he must make a 172-mile double-round trip.
And because of the midday kick-off time, he must travel to Swansea the night before.
Tim said: “We were told people who live in Cardiff or further away could apply to travel to the game independently, so I did the moment I secured my ticket.
“Despite living a mile away from Cardiff City Stadium I’ve been turned down and will have to catch a coach from Swansea at 7.45am – more than four hours before kick-off.
“There are no trains to get to Swansea at 6am on a Sunday so realistically I’ll have to travel the night before and stay with family.
“I then face having to go back to Swansea on the coach after the game before returning home to Cardiff.
“What should be a two-mile round trip is likely to be more like 200 miles and take up half of my weekend.
“Ordinary football fans should not be treated like criminals just because they want to follow their team away from home.”
The same situation did apply to Bluebirds fans for the reverse fixture when they lost 1-0 at Liberty Stadium on October 27.
Swansea yesterday said it would release additional tickets so more of their fans could travel direct.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
