Originally Posted by
Ezeikial
The first comment misses the point - there were no complaints about the stewarding or policing for the most recent Rovers - Dundalk match (although there certainly were stewarding safety issues from over-crowding in the first fixture in March, before another section was opened 15-20 minutes into the game).
The latter point is more relevant - the visiting numbers were restricted but not a single home fan ended up in the half of the East Stand that was left empty. The walk-ups argument holds no water - only about 60% of the capacity was actually used. It's simply not credible that Rovers officials seriously forecast the possibility of an extra 2,000 walk-ups
It is absolutely the case that it is their prerogative to do this, but there are potential financial and safety consequences to this, including an inevitability of having visitor fans mixed in the home sections
It's not the first time - Rovers have limited numbers previously in similar circumstances, as have Cork City when Dundalk won 1-0 last September
It also seems unlikely that AGS or Health & Safety considerations have changed significantly since Bohs had about > 20% more visiting fans safely accommodated in Tallaght in April,
It seems to me that the more likely reasons are based in pettiness or a fear that the away team support from title rivals could dominate the stadium atmosphere - maybe that is a 'legitimate' reason to leave seats empty instead of taking additional paying fans.