Tottenham fans DEMAND compensation after West Ham game is pushed back with just 15 DAYS’ notice

Tottenham Hotspur fans are demanding compensation after a late change to the kick-off time for their home game against West Ham which has left many out of pocket.

Spurs, who have not had a home 3pm Saturday kick off for over two years, gave fans just 15 days’ notice that the kick-off time for the match on 20 March had been put back by two and a half hours from 2pm – simply because Sky Sports were left with a hole when the 4.30pm game between Liverpool and Manchester United could no longer take place.

Hundreds of Spurs fans, who travel to home games from across the UK, had booked cheap, train-specific advance tickets, while a particularly large travelling support from Ireland also now find the flights they booked to be useless.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST) told Sportsmail it has asked the club to explore compensating affected fans, though as of last night had received no agreement to that. Compensation for fans is thought to be highly unlikely.

Fans’ frustration is compounded by the fact that the Premier League had failed to announce the first rescheduled 2pm Sunday kick-off time for the West Ham game within six weeks of the fixtures – a deadline agreed with the Football Supporters Association.

The kick-off shift comes because Liverpool’s progress in the FA Cup means they are can no longer play United at Anfield at 4.30pm that day. 

The backlash follows the ludicrous FA Cup quarter-final kick-off times which means Everton and Chelsea fans cannot take the train to their ties at Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough on the same weekend.

Spurs fans want compensation after the kick off time was pushed back by two and a half hours

It has been pushed back as Liverpool will no longer host Manchester United on that date

Martin Cloake, co-chair of THST, said the assumption that the kick-off time for a game between two London clubs made no difference revealed how out of touch the broadcasters and Premier League are.

He said: ‘A lot of people in football still seem to think it’s 1952 and all match-going fans live beside the stadium. Many Premier League clubs have fans coming from far further afield.

‘To move the fixture twice at short notice is totally unacceptable and proves that the tail wags the dog when it comes to TV and football. We are asking the club for compensation but we are getting the usual stonewalling.

‘We know that there is a business deal with broadcasters which brings masses of money into the game but the clubs have merely thought “how much money can we get from the deal?” with no thought for supporters.’

Supporters travel from all over the country and from abroad to watch Tottenham play

Sky Sports said that fixture backlog this season had created a unique set of circumstances, further complicated by the FA Cup and a wish not to have Premier League games clashing with Cup ties.

Tottenham Hotspur said in a statement: ‘We regret the inconvenience caused to supporters by the fixture amendment and have conveyed these feelings to the Premier League.

‘Tickets for all fixtures are sold subject to change of both date and kick-off time, and we would always encourage as much notice as possible for this.’