Sir - I read that Oxford United's secretary and general manager Mick Brown said that the club were bound by the FA's minimum price of £15 for third round ties to increase ticket prices for those sitting in the Oxford Mail stand should Oxford get through to that round.

The FA are not short of cash at present due to the new TV money so I presume this policy is an attempt to market the ties as a premium product? Such a policy may work with the Premiership, but are fans really expected to see Oxford v. Dagenham as a glamour tie, a premium product?

Had Harrogate Railway met Havant & W. in the third round would their fans have been expected to stump up the extra cash too? £15 may not seem a lot compared to the £50-60 prices charged by our top teams, but working people and families are hard pressed at Christmas and the FA should be ashamed of themselves for seeking to exploit fans' tribal loyalty!

As someone who has just turned 50 years of age I can well recall when cinema and football ticket prices were comparable, but the same comparison today reveals how football fans are being ripped off. Sadly most of the regular fans will pay the extra money, but it is only when the fans refuse to accept such blatant price-fixing that we will see an end to the rampant greed which has engulfed our national sport.

Alan J. Fisher, Finstock