Sheffield United fans to bill Sky for charity over match switch

The game was due to take place on the Easter Bank Holiday Monday, March 28 but has now been moved to Wednesday March 30 with a 7.45pm kick off.

Many supporters had pre-booked trains and hotels to spend the weekend at the seaside town, with some even buying tickets to see musician and Blades fan Paul Heaton perform in Southend on the Sunday night.

United fans Ian Rands and Luke Prest, in way of protest, have invited fellow supporters to send them details of how much the fixture change has cost them.

The twitter campaign, using the hashtag #TheBladesBigSkyBill, when completed on Sunday, January 24, will see a ‘mock’ invoice sent to Sky and it is hoped the broadcasters will donate the final sum to a Sheffield charity.

A post on Rands’ blog, A United View, read: “Seeking recompense for individual fans is probably stretching it, but instead we propose the total cost incurred by fans is settled by way of a donation to a nominated Sheffield charity.

“We can set up a vote so Blades fans can choose the recipients, assuming Sky see fit to pay.”

It added: “We are not the only fans to suffer from late notice fixture changes, with the cost implications and inconvenience that they cause.

“Hopefully other clubs’ fans might see this and follow suit, or find their own ways to challenge the status quo. Football without fans is nothing.

“Football matches without away fans are sterile, muted, dispassionate events. It shouldn’t have to be that way.”