The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has decided to charge wheelchair users £41 to see England play Rugby at Twickenham
This will be the first time since 1910, when the first international match was played there, that spectators in wheelchairs will have to pay to watch England in action.
Philip Connolly, of Disability Rights UK, said: ‘Disabled people get a pretty raw deal from society and it is not normal practice to start taking money from people in wheelchairs.’
The RFU said the decision was based on the recommendation following made by Level Playing Field, formerly known as the National Association of Disabled Supporters, which said that the introduction of charges would promote equality.
The recommendation allowed that the provision of a free ticket for a personal assistant or companion represented a ‘reasonable adjustment’ to allow a disabled person to attend a match independently.
The move will raise an estimated extra £150,000 from England’s three home games in the Six Nations tournament.
For more on this story see http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2944313/Scrapped-free-tickets-disabled-fans-home-English-rugby-tradition-century.html
Disability Rights UK will be working with three local Disabled People’s User Led Organisations to develop a model to increase the number of disabled being active and playing sport.