Brighton and Hove Albion fans urged to boycott Seagulls' first game on Premier League PPV

Brighton fans are being urged to boycott the Seagulls' first game on Premier League PPV on Monday night in favour of making a donation to local food banks.
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Leading fan site WeAreBrighton.com wants supporters to follow the lead of Newcastle United fans, who shunned their fixture with Manchester United on Saturday night to instead raise over £20,000.

Football supporters across England have been up in arms over broadcasters' and the Premier League's decision to charge fans £14.95 per game to watch their side in matches which would over wise not be shown on television.

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What started out as a Boycott PPV moment has since grown into something more powerful. As well as Newcastle, fans of Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have all begun giving £15 to food banks instead of paying to watch their teams on PPV.

Scott McCarthy from WeAreBrighton.com said: "Brighton fans are already forking out hundreds of pounds in subscriptions to Sky Sports and BT Sport to watch live football.

"Many have paid many hundreds more to the Albion for season tickets which are currently pointless, although the club are at least beginning to refund that money.

"To then be asked to pay another £15 per game is the straw that broke the camel's back. It's profiteering at a time when people don't know if they will still have a job in six month's time.

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"What happened in Newcastle was brilliant. The only way that the Premier League listens is when you hit them in the pocket. Boycotting PPV not only does that, but this takes money that the Premier League and the television companies thought would be lining their already very rich pockets and uses it instead to feed struggling people.

"You couldn't get a more contrasting cause from the greed and gluttony of the Premier League than a food bank."

WeAreBrighton.com got in contact with the Brighton Food Bank, who work with 17 business and 58 churches across Brighton & Hove to provide food, heating assistance, toiletries and other essentials to those who are struggling.

"We spoke to Mike at Brighton Food Bank, who works very hard. He said that anything Brighton fans could do to help would be greatly appreciated, especially as they are expecting food bank use to rise over the coming months.

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"So we're asking Brighton fans who could afford to pay the £15 but who want to Boycott PPV to instead donate the money Sky wanted them to spend on Monday's game with West Brom to their local food bank.

"It doesn't have to be the Brighton Food Bank. There are hundreds of others all over Sussex crying out for donations. Your £15 can make a real difference for you local food bank at the same time as showing the Premier League they have gone too far. Hopefully, this can be a Paul on the Road to Damascus moment for the way they treat fans."

If you are an Albion fan who would like to donate to the Brighton Food Bank instead of paying to watch Monday's game with West Bromwich Albion, you can do so here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity?charityId=1016536&stop_mobi=yes