Norwich City’s trip to Lincoln City has sparked a ticket row after the Canaries were allocated 1,440 seats and gave ‘Match Pick’ holders the first chance to buy ahead of their most regular away supporters.
Norwich come to Sincil Bank on Sunday, 13 December, with kick-off at 2 pm. It has seemingly been suggested the allocation they received was significantly smaller than anticipated. Writing on X, Supporter Panel member Richard Clinnick said the original offer of 2,000 tickets was reduced, ‘blindsiding’ the club.
This isn’t ideal, NCFC was blindsided by Lincoln stadium safety concerns. The original figure offered was nearly halved before negotiations got us more.
MANY options investigated – this is probably the least worst. I lose out. We at the Supporter Panel are raising matchpick.— Richard Clinnick (@Clinnick1) November 5, 2026
Despite originally hosting visiting supporters in the temporary stand, City announced in October that they would be housed together in the Stacey West Stand from the Burnley game, with the temporary stand switching to home use. This came after the Safety Advisory Group had input into the review of the arrangements at Sincil Bank.
However, the information coming out of Norfolk is highly misleading, because it is my understanding there was never an offer of 2,000 tickets, nor has that been the case for any travelling supporters this season. The typical allocation is around the 1,100 mark, so what Norwich are claiming has got to be questioned.
It seems more likely that there was an assumption, based on last season, that they’d get a 2,000 allocation, and that they were subsequently offered 1,100, as other clubs have been. My further understanding is they then asked for more, and were given their current 1,400, but not because an original allocation had been halved over safety concerns, which gives a misleading view of our stadium and procedures.
Loyalty Scheme Woes
This is the flipside to the loyalty scheme debate. Norwich supporters who chose Lincoln as their ‘Match Pick’ get first access on Monday, 9 November. Any remaining tickets go on sale on Tuesday, 10 November, to a temporary Group 1+, made up of supporters who attended at least 15 away games last season. Those who went to between 10 and 14 are due to get their chance the following day, but Norwich already expect the allocation to sell out before then.
This is the other side of a loyalty scheme that perhaps our fans don’t usually get to see. It doesn’t satisfy the argument; it just creates different ones. Some Norwich fans questioned whether Match Pick should still take priority once the allocation had been cut. Supporter James Hastings argued that someone who made 14 away trips last season could lose out to a member who rarely travels, adding that “Group 1 should have been guaranteed a ticket.”
Meanwhile, Clinnick said Norwich had explored several options and described the arrangement as “probably the least worst”. He said he would miss out himself and that the Supporter Panel would raise the use of Match Pick with the club.
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