Postal strike causes derby ticket chaos

Oct 17 2007

THE postal strike has hit distribution of tickets for this Saturday’s Liverpool-Everton derby.

Everton FC assured fans they were monitoring the mail strike to avoid ticket chaos .

But Liverpool fans will have to pick up their tickets from the LFC ticket office.

Reds spokesman Ian Cotton said: “Because of the ongoing postal dispute we have taken the decision that every single Everton ticket will have to be collected, and we have communicated that to the people eligible for these tickets.

“Our ticket office is open on Saturday morning, so even people coming from far afield can call in and then head to Goodison.”

However, many Blues fans have yet to receive tickets through the post for Saturday’s game as the wildcat walkout in Liverpool remains unresolved.

Mark Palfreyman, 49, from Frodsham, bought his Bullens Road ticket over a week ago, along with tickets for his son and nephew, as part of the Evertonian fan scheme.

He said: “When I bought it, I queried the situation and asked if sending them out would be affected by the postal strike.

“He said it wouldn’t be a problem as everything would be sorted by then. Obviously, it hasn’t.”

Today, an Everton FC bosses said they were aware of the potential effect the postal strike could have on sending out derby tickets.

A spokesman said: “We still hope tickets will get through and we are in talks with Royal Mail.

“If it become clear that tickets will not reach their destination we will make an announcement on the website.

“We would ask fans not to panic. We understand their apprehension bearing in mind the tickets that went missing for the Metalist Kharkiv game.”

If the strike does continue, fans could be asked to pick up their tickets at a pre-arranged time, and replacement may be issued.

Local postal workers have been out on unofficial action for a week since a two-day nationwide official action ended last Wednesday.

Nationally the Communication Workers Union has agreed to suspend official planned strikes for today, tomorrow and Friday, as they continued to consider a proposed deal aimed at resolving the bitter mail dispute.

But in Liverpool talks between Royal Mail and union leaders made no headway yesterday, with 21 depots still out of action in the city, and 800 postal staff still boycotting work.