Arsenal face supporter backlash over plans to make further redundancies

Arsenal are under fire from their own supporters following a decision to implement further redundancies across the club, including supporter liaison officer Mark Brindle and a significant number of commercial and ticketing employees.

More than a dozen fan groups have written to the chief executive Vinai Venkatesham following the news, first reported by CBS.

The consultation process around the redundancies has not yet been completed and supporters hope that their pleas will see the plans reversed.

It is mandatory for Premier League clubs and those competing in UEFA competitions to employ a full-time SLO and Arsenal said liaising with supporters remains “very important to the club”.

An Arsenal Supporters’ Trust spokesman told football.london : “The SLO role is really important and we want the club to give careful consideration to how they continue to maintain relationships with supporters.”

Brindle’s role involves overseeing more than 250 supporters’ clubs across the world, dealing with ticketing distribution and ensuring the safety of fans at away games. He has also set up links between the club and Islington food bank in recent years.

Staff in their ticket office and commercial departments are also set to be laid off, less than nine months after 55 off-field employees were made redundant. Arsenal have also recently taken out a £120million Bank of England low-interest loan as part of a scheme for corporations that have struggled financially as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

An Arsenal spokesman said: “We are looking to improve the service we offer to supporters and are bringing our ticketing and services and premium operations together as one combined team. This will provide a more efficient service to our premium, general admission and supporters’ clubs around the world.

"Providing an effective service to supporters' clubs is central to our thinking here. The duties of the supporter liaison officer, which is a requirement of both the Premier League and UEFA, will not disappear and are very important to the club. In fact we will be increasing the level of resources in this area."

Arsenal Spokesperson

According to Deloitte, Arsenal’s revenue fell by 13% to £340.3million last season with matchday and broadcast income reduced significantly due to the pandemic.

However, they had the second largest commercial growth among Europe’s richest clubs thanks to an improved deal with Emirates and a new lucrative manufacturing contract with Adidas.

Original article 09.02.21 on the www.football.london website (written by Chief Football Writer, Alan Smith)

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