Things might not have gone to plan on the pitch, but Steve Waggott was pleased with the operation for the East Lancashire derby.

Rovers sold tickets in three phases, with qualification criteria for each, having only been handed an allocation of 2,200 for the fixture at Turf Moor.

Following discussions with both clubs and Lancashire Police the decision was taken to remove the ‘bubble’ operation in place for previous derbies meaning away fans could travel independently to the game should they wish.

The majority of Rovers fans still took the opportunity to still travel on club-provided coaches, with Waggott revealing only once incident throughout the course of the afternoon.

The first sales phase was for season ticket holders with an 1875 membership and with record of attending at least one away fixture this season.

Waggott said it was imperative that tickets went beyond the first phase when drawing them up, and while he understood the concerns of some fans, said it was the fairest way of selling tickets.

He said: “I thought it went well.

“There were always going to be losers and I had comments like ‘I’ve been a season ticket holder for 50 years, why should I be an 1875 member?’ which is a valid point

“You have to have a tiered system and I think everybody could see where we were going.

“We clearly stated that tier one would be season ticket holders with an 1875 membership.

“I had been approached by a lot of fans on the road, going to every game, and I see them and they say ‘I hope we get looked after for Burnley because we’re the ones who tend to miss out, but go to Reading etc, and then we don’t get a chance of a ticket for Burnley’, which is another valid point.

“You try and be as fair and balanced and as long as we didn’t breach the first tier, and had to go to ballot.

“We discussed it at length and with the fans forum and the people there thought the system was applied fairly.”

The game was moved to be broadcast live on Sky Sports, a decision that Waggott said was out of the club’s hands, but it was always expected that would be the case.

It was a first meeting between the sides since 2017, and first at Turf Moor since 2016, with Burnley running out 3-0 winners on the day.

“There were a lot of meetings, it was like a military operation,” Waggott added.

“East Lancashire Police went on record to say it was one of their biggest enforcement operations for decades.

“There was one incident after the game, but I think it went well.

“It was thoroughly and meticulously planned and I think you benefit from doing that.”

It had been outlined that the ‘bubble’ restrictions could be brought back should there be deemed a need when the reverse fixture takes place at Ewood Park in March.

However, Waggott believes that human rights legislation is likely to prevent that from happening, and believes the extra space available at Ewood Park will allow for freedom of travel.

“I think it’s to do with human rights and you can’t do it anymore and that people can travel of their own volition,” he said.

“We have more expansive car parks for fans, Burnley is quite a difficult stadium to get in and out of.

“I think most of the supporters who have sampled an East Lancashire derby decided to go on the buses, which I thought was good.”

Rovers fans were situated in one half of the Barnfield Construction Stand at Turf Moor, hence the allocation of 2,200 which was fully sold-out.
Some supporters were frustrated by the lack of tickets made available, and questioned whether Rovers would open up the entirety of the Darwen End, which could hold in the region of 7,000 for the return fixture.

Waggott says that is an issue raised to him by supporters, though EFL rules outline that the home club must make at least 10 per cent of the capacity available to away fans.

There is the issue of sporting advantage in allowing so many travelling supporters into the ground, but conversely is the revenue that could be generated by an increased allocation.

And that is something Waggott says will be weighed up over the course of the next three months before the sides play again.

“We have to take a balanced view of what we do with that,” he explained.

“In a commercial sense we have quite a healthy number there, which generates a lot of income for us.

“But I’ve also had a lot of emails and communication from fans who said that we should only give them the same equivalent.

“If we strictly applied EFL rules then we would give them 10 per cent of the stadium if we wanted to do that.

“That would be 3,100, but then we couldn’t split the Darwen End.

“There’s a lot of things to go under the bridge for the next four months before then, so let’s see.”

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