Following this afternoon’s results, we now know that we will play against AFC Bournemouth in the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final. The away leg will take place on Monday 17 May, kick-off at 6pm, and the home leg on Saturday 22 May, kick-off at 12.30pm.

In a perfect world we would want all Bees fans to be at the home leg, and we know that you would want to be there too. (Please note that no away fans will be allowed to attend games).

The backdrop of uncertainty over capacity restrictions imposed by the Government and our increased Season Ticket Holder numbers has created a real challenge for the Club to find the fairest way to distribute the limited tickets we will have. We fully understand and sympathise with those who will miss out on securing a ticket and who will naturally be very disappointed.

Behind the scenes, we have been in constant communication with the authorities to find ways to allow as many supporters into the home game as possible, while being bound by the safety regulations in place. We have also consulted with both BIAS and Bees United to confirm our approach and to ensure the ticket allocation process is as fair as it can be. We have tried to balance the commitment in our Customer Charter, to reward those with the highest level of Ticket Access Points (TAPs), with the desire to give all of our frozen Season Ticket Holders (STH) a chance to get a ticket for this important game.

Final regulations surrounding the attendance of supporters are still subject to Government confirmation, which we hope to receive on Monday, 10 May. We are planning on a reduced capacity attendance of 25 per cent of the overall capacity of our new home. The vast majority of tickets in General Admission (GA) areas will be offered to those frozen Season Ticket Holders (including Dugout Seat Holders), above a TAP threshold to be announced following the Government’s announcements and confirmation of capacity. The remainder of the tickets will go into a ballot, in which the rest of our frozen STH (including our youngest fans) will be eligible to apply.

This solution rewards our longest-serving fans whilst also giving all of those who have supported the Club through this challenging year, a chance to attend.

We are planning for tickets allocated by TAPs to be available to buy from Wednesday, 12 May, with a deadline of Friday, 14 May. (Details to follow).  At the same time, we would offer all other frozen STHs a chance to enter the ballot which would be drawn on Monday 17 May. Those who are successful would have a three-day window to buy their tickets from Tuesday 18 May.

Premium Seat Holders who are above the TAP threshold will be contacted to make their purchase. The remainder of our Premium Seat Holders will have the chance to enter the main GA ballot.

We fully appreciate there will be some disappointed Bees fans at the end of this process and we are incredibly sad our Semi-Final cannot be played in front of a packed stadium. We share your frustrations and thank you for your understanding and patience while we wait for the Government’s announcements. We look forward to providing full details as soon as we can.