Married Ian Ayre has defended the club’s new ticket costs which led to a mass walk-out at the Sunderland clash. Liverpool chief executive Ia...
Married Ian Ayre has defended the club’s new ticket costs which led to a mass walk-out at the Sunderland clash.
Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre poses with bikini-clad barmaids – before he was spotted alongside two beauties in the stands.Young fans: Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre poses with bikini-clad barmaids |
Fans are up in arms due to the proposed introduction of £77 seats, and higher season ticket prices.
In an interview before Saturday’s protest, Mr Ayre said: “We have an ageing fan base and we are trying to breath life into it.
"We need to get more kids into Anfield and more young people.”
He certainly appeared to be enjoying the company of young people for his side’s trip to meet Rubin Kazan in Russia before Liverpool’s 1-0 Europa League victory on November 5.
Fans: Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre spotted alongside two beauties in the stands |
And the barmaid who posed alongside him there appeared to enjoy the match in a seat next to him.
The attractive brunette, who appears to be in her 20s, posed alongside Mr Ayre at the ground, then in the stands, on other photos posted online.
The images have led to some criticism of the football chief from fans.
Both Mr Ayre, and the club, have declined to comment.
Mr Ayre grew up in Liverpool, and followed the club home and away as a teenager.
Life long fan Mr Ayre married his wife Debra, 48, in 1991.
They are believed to have two children and he has a property on Neston, Merseyside.
The salaries of individual Liverpool directors are not given in the club’s annual accounts.
One Liverpool fan said that the photos were circulating on social media as a result of the proposed increase in the cost of tickets.
He added: “With prices at a record high, many working class fans priced out of the game.”
Reds’ podcaster ‘The Anfield Wrap’ made the 2,524 mile journey to Kazan, and confirmed that they had been to Twin Peaks when Mr Ayre was in there.
He wrote: “We met these people in Twin Peaks and Ian Ayre was in there.
“Our hosts were fantastic, I honestly can’t speak highly enough of the Russian people.
“They get a bad press over here and are misunderstood....once you speak to them on an individual level it’s as if you break down a barrier and they’ll do anything for you.”
Tickets: FA Chairman Greg Dyke talks to the Mirror's Martin Bagot about ticket prices |
Lifelong Reds fan Michael Kilcullen, 68, will have to pay £869 for his next season ticket, a £130 increase.
His grandson David Browrigg, 20, a student, will have to fork out £1,029.
Mr Kilcullen said: “I always said once the tickets went over £1,000, I won’t pay it, I will just pack it in altogether.
“I have wrote to the club already objecting to the prices, and I have said I won’t be able to afford it.”
FA chairman Greg Dyke made clear they have it in their power to reduce prices.
Questioned as he walked his dog in Twickenham, he said: “It’s up to the clubs.
"It’s not something for the FA to decide. I was at Liverpool on Saturday and I saw what happened.
“There was clearly a large number of fans who were protesting. Were they in the right? I don’t know.”
Roy Evans, once manager at Liverpool, said his old club had to stop ‘taking fans for granted’.
Their former captain Jamie Carragher joined the 10,000 fans’ walk-out at the Reds’ 2-2 draw against Sunderland on Saturday.
The Premier League has pledged to help fans meet the soaring cost of watching their heroes amid growing calls for a fairer deal.
A Premier League spokesman said: “There is absolute agreement from the 20 clubs that something needs to be done to help away fans with costs.
"At the moment there is not a consensus on what form that help will take.
"That is what we are working on, but it is going to be something meaningful for the start of next season.”
FSF chairman Malcolm Clark said the top flight fat cats could let ‘everyone in for free’ and still have more money than last season due to the new £8bn TV rights deal for 2016-19.
He added: “People are beginning to realise the sheer size of the income from television.
"Fans start to get some of the benefits. It wouldn’t be a very marketable product without them.”
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