'Record low' crowd for Sunderland vs Crewe after fans report ticketing issues at Stadium of Light

The game was a 7.45pm kick-off on Tuesday, August 8, in the EFL Cup but fans reported difficulties with ticket sales in the hours before the fixture.

The eventual attendance of 10,763 was, other than a covid-affected tie with Hull City in 2020, the lowest ever at the stadium in the competition. It was the fourth lowest there in all first class competitions. Three FA Cup games have attracted lower turnouts.

On Sunday, August 6 Sunderland’s televised home league game against Ipswich Town was attended by 44,407 people, with the fixture running smoothly on the day from a ticketing perspective.

The club is keen for supporters to purchase tickets online. But the policy has proved controversial, particularly among older fans.

The Echo understands that between around 8pm on Monday, August 7 until approximately 10am the next day, the day of the Crewe game, tickets were not sold with the club’s website stating: “This event is no longer on sale through the ticketing site or it has sold out.”

Supporters have also spoken, in person and on social media, about technical issues once tickets were back on sale, with sessions being timed out prematurely, navigating difficulties and not being able to use customer numbers which had been used in the past.

The Echo has made two requests for a comment from SAFC on the problems of ticketing and also replica shirt sales, but has yet to receive a response.

Sunderland lost to Crewe on penalties.