QPR could be forced into an embarrassing climbdown over their newly-announced ticket price hike.
The club have chosen to categorise games in three bands according to the attractiveness of the opposition but the Gazette understands the move breaks Football League rules because you cannot re-price once the season is under way.
All clubs have to submit details of ticket prices before the first fixtures and they then need permission to make any alterations which Rangers do not have.
The Football League is looking into the matter as a matter of urgency, according to press spokesman John Nagle, who said Rangers re-pricing into different bands was Ôhighly unusual for a club outside the Premier League.
A test of the fans' reaction to the increases and there has been no consultation comes immediately with next weekend's home match against Derby County classified a top category match. QPR fan group LSA are planning a protest outside
Loftus Road before and after the match and want to collect signatures for a petition they intend to hand to chairman Flavio Briatore.
It is unclear what sanctions Rangers could face for breaking the rules but with tickets already on sale at the higher prices, refunds for fans may be an option the league board considers as well as an insistence that matchday prices revert to what they were at the start of the season for all future matches.
The club was criticised for summer price rises of 50 per cent for season tickets, which led to many fans deciding not to renew.
But if those fans opting out were hoping to pick and choose individual games to save cash, they are still being hit.
Tickets are going up from £40 to £50 in the main stand for the top games and from £30 to £40 at the Loft End.
John Reid, secretary of the LSA (Loyal Supporters Association) said he was dismayed and disgusted at the price increases.
He feared it might be a
conscious policy to price out long-standing fans and replace them with a new breed of richer spectators with no real loyalty to the club.
"The LSA stands against all forms of discrimination, including discrimination on economic grounds, he said. "We feel the club is excluding a section of our fans who are no longer able to pay the very high prices asked.
"It may be a very short-sighted policy, given that the economy is in recession, people are losing their jobs and inflation is rocketing. People may make the choice in these hard times to stop paying high prices to watch a live match.
"We welcome the fact that the club is safe financially and we are confident there will be success on the field, but if we lose our loyal fan base, we lose the heart and soul of our club."
