Leeds United given extra 2,000 tickets for season finale at Ipswich Town

LEEDS UNITED have been allocated an extra 2,000 tickets by already-relegated Ipswich Town for their final Championship game of the season at Portman Road.
MORE TICKETS: For Leeds United's travelling support, pictured at Preston North End.MORE TICKETS: For Leeds United's travelling support, pictured at Preston North End.
MORE TICKETS: For Leeds United's travelling support, pictured at Preston North End.

Ipswich say the decision to increase United's allocation has been taken after meetings between the club, the police and safety advisors.

Leeds will release more information on the tickets tomorrow.

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The Whites were initially handed just 2,000 tickets for the tie with Leeds taking their full allocation.

Ipswich then issued strict new ticket rules, aimed at stopping Whites fans from being able to buy tickets in the Ipswich end.

But the extra allocation means that Leeds will now be able to take 4,000 fans to their final game of the season which could see the Whites finally seal promotion back to the Premier League after a 15-year absence.

Portman Road has a capacity of just over 30,000 and bottom-of-the-table Ipswich were consigned to next season in League One with four games remaining through Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Birmingham City, watched by an attendance of 17,248.

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Leeds sit in the Championship's second automatic promotion place with a three-point cushion back to third-placed Sheffield United with four games left.

Ten points from those four games will definitely see the Whites promoted, even if the Blades win all four of their remaining games.

The season finale at Ipswich follows the previous weekend's home clash against a fifth-placed Aston Villa side who have won eight in a row with Leeds at home to fourth-bottom Wigan Athletic this Good Friday and then away at 14th-placed Brentford on Easter Monday.

Ipswich say they have been inundated with ticket requests from Leeds fans looking to attend the game.

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“We have been aware of the demand from Leeds fans to attend the game and we have had communication from the EFL on the matter but we felt it wasn’t something that could be discussed until we were relegated,” Town secretary, Stuart Hayton told the Club website.

“We needed to ensure that we could cover the demand to attend the game from our own fans first and that could have increased if our fate went down to the last game of the season.

“Having met with the Safety Advisory Group in an emergency meeting today and spoken to the police, it was felt that it was beneficial on safety grounds to allocate the upper tier of the Cobbold Stand to Leeds fans.

"We sincerely apologise to our supporters for the inconvenience caused in having to be moved to other parts of the stadium and hope they understand the reasons for this late decision. It’s not one we have taken lightly.”

Ipswich season ticket holders or supporters who have purchased a match ticket in the Cobbold Stand will be required to choose a seat elsewhere in the stadium.