How train strikes will affect Man City and Man Utd fans for the FA Cup final
By Euan Burns
The 2022/23 FA Cup final has been thrown into a state of confusion after train drivers announced they would be striking on the day of the big match at Wembley.
The announcement was made by the Aslef trade union. It comes after many months of industrial strikes in multiple public sectors in the United Kingdom. The workers will be striking on the day of the final, as well as 12 May and 31 May, as per the announcement.
The fresh strikes have been called because the union rejected a fresh offer from 16 train firms which included a 4% pay rise for two years in a row and changes to working conditions. It is not just football that will be affected as 12 May is the day before the Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool.
Union representative Mick Whelan said: "The blame for this action lies, fairly and squarely, at the feet of the employers who have forced our hand over this by their intransigence."
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When is the FA Cup final and how do the strikes affect fans?
The FA Cup final is scheduled for 3 June, which is one of the three strike dates announced.
With the game being between Manchester City and Manchester United, the majority of those with match tickets are going to be travelling down from north west England. The main service between Manchester and London is run by Avanti West Coast and their drivers will be striking on the day of the final, which means the majority of fans will have to go by road or travel down the night before and pay for somewhere to stay in the capital at short notice.
The clubs are now liaising with the Football Association for some sort of solution as each side is expected to sell 30,000 tickets for the match which is played at Wembley Stadium in north west London.
There are other events in London that are expected to be affected too, such as Beyonce's Renaissance tour at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the same day, the England men's cricket match against Ireland at Lord's, and the Epsom Derby.
How can Man City and Man Utd help fans?
There is no magic way for the clubs to transport their fans down to London in a more convenient way than if the trains were running, but they are not completely out of options.
The most obvious solution would be for the clubs to run a coach service for their fans. This would mean far more fans can be delivered to Wembley in a more compact way than thousands of individual cars. This would need to be funded in some way, and there is also the factor of parking the buses in London upon arrival, and making sure they all get to Wembley in plenty of time so as to not delay kick-off.
Brighton recently ran a shuttle bus service from the city centre to their AMEX Stadium when train strikes meant fans could not make it to Falmer by rail.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust has urged the government to find a resolution to their dispute with rail workers. Their statement said: "A train strike on Cup Final day will be a huge inconvenience to the tens of thousands of supporters travelling down from Manchester to London on the day. We need all modes of transport available to cope with the level of demand and the railways are a key part of that.
"We call on the Government and the trade union to get round the table and find a way to avert this industrial action."