By David Owen
May 5 – These are massively challenging times for clubs not at the apogee of the football pyramid, so it is heartening to be able to report on the helping hand that has been extended to Partick Thistle, one of the best-loved clubs in Scotland, by diehard fans.
The club, founded in 1876 and known, among other things, for its red and yellow colours, offered 2019-20 season ticket-holders a refund after the coronavirus pandemic led to early termination of the Scottish second-tier season with Thistle stranded in last place and therefore consigned to relegation.
The board announced on Tuesday that the proportion of eligible supporters who had applied for these refunds was just 3.5%. This left the Firhill club facing a bill of less than £5,000, rather than the over £80,000 that would have been due had all those entitled submitted a claim.
While the difference may amount to the sort of sum that top stars of the game would expect to earn in a few days, it can make a huge difference to those, like Partick, currently categorised among the sport’s “have nots”.
Offering a “huge thanks” for the show of support, directors emphasised first that they were “genuinely pleased that those supporters who required a refund to help them at this tough time took up our offer prior to Friday’s deadline”. In all, 64 of the club’s 1,800 season ticket-holders did so.
Nonetheless, directors described the rest of the fans’ generosity as “an incredible gesture” and “a continuation of the amazing support you have shown us in recent months”.
While offering the refund was “absolutely the right thing to do”, the board said that support shown by fans in return was “humbling”. It concluded: “Not only does it provide a massive financial boost to the club at this very uncertain time, it encourages us to continue to take decisions that are right for Thistle and our fans.”
It remains to be seen whether the 2020-21 season can begin on time in Scotland, as elsewhere, and under what conditions.
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