Hull City fans stopped their game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday by throwing objects on the pitch.
The home fans threw yellow balls (not tennis balls as it first appeared) on the field of ball in an orchestrated protest against the ownership of the Allam family. Most came from the north stand of the KCOM Stadium.
The Tigers went onto lose the game 3-2. A hat-rick from Everton loanee Kieron Dowell meant Forest left East Yorkshire with all 3 points.
Hull fans have been increasingly frustrated by the Allams ownership. Here is why-
Name change- Hull City fans were very opposed to the Allam’s plans to change the clubs name to Hull Tigers. The application was rejected by the FA. Nevertheless, the club’s social media accounts refuse to use the fan’s hashtag of #hcafc and never use the word “City” on any marketing material. They only use “The Tigers”. The club’s YouTube and Facebook accounts are called Hull Tigers and their website is called “Hull City Tigers”.
Owners comments- Ehab and Assem Allam have made comments in the past that have angered fans. This includes “they can die when they want”.
Membership scheme- The club adopted a membership scheme for home games which scrapped concessions. This has priced out the older generation as well as children and has significantly dropped attendances at the KCOM stadium. Despite this, the club continue to lie about home attendances and say they are bigger then they are.
Lack of investment- Ahead of the 2016/17 season when Hull City were preparing for a Premier League campaign, the club signed nobody and started the season with 13 fit senior players. Steve Bruce quit and this came back to haunt Hull when they were relegated.
Asset stripping- Following relegation, the Tigers sold a number of key players such as Harry Maguire (£17 million), Sam Clucas (£16 million),Andy Robertson (£8 million) and the likes of Eldin Jakupovic, Ahmed Elmohamady, Curtis Davies and Tom Huddlestone were all sold on the cheap. Although Hull did sign some players, they bought on the cheap and the owners have pocketed most of the money made from sales.
