Fan files consumer complaint against football club
An extended winless streak by one of Sweden’s biggest football clubs has caused a disgruntled fan to report AIK to the Swedish Consumer Agency (KO) for misleading marketing practices.
“The club has made a fool of itself again this year,” AIK supporter Kristoffer Gahlin told the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
AIK’s chances of success this year in Sweden’s top football league, the Allsvenskan, have gone from bad to worse in recent weeks as the team has failed to win in its last five matches.
Gahlin has been a registered supporter of the club since 1978 but has now decided he’s fed up with the team’s haplessness.
“Every year they go out and promise how good things are going to be, and then everything ends up being as it has been,” he told DN
“The supporters are the only ones who fall for it, spending a lot of money and getting used.”
AIK is one of three Allsvenskan-level clubs located in the Stockholm area. The club is known for having some of the country’s most rowdy fans.
Mattias Grundström, a lawyer with the KO who is himself an AIK supporter, confirmed that Gahlin’s complaint had been received but didn’t think it would be a priority.
“I can understand that many in AIK feel troubled, but it’s not the same as when a case deals with food prices, for example,” he said.
At the weekend, AIK dropped yet another match 0-2 to Trelleborg, which trails AIK in the standings by several points.
“After the effort against Trelleborg, I can understand the public’s frustration, but I don’t think that the Consumer Agency is going to take action against AIK Fotball AB,” Grundström told DN.
AIK communications director Sophie Josefsson says the club plans to review its product description.
“It’s great that AIK means so much to people that they react and push the issue,” she said.
For his part, Gahlin simply hopes that the club accepts the criticism and stops promising things it can't deliver only to then cry to fans when things don’t go well.
“They can apologize instead for not delivering the product they are selling,” he said.
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“The club has made a fool of itself again this year,” AIK supporter Kristoffer Gahlin told the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
AIK’s chances of success this year in Sweden’s top football league, the Allsvenskan, have gone from bad to worse in recent weeks as the team has failed to win in its last five matches.
Gahlin has been a registered supporter of the club since 1978 but has now decided he’s fed up with the team’s haplessness.
“Every year they go out and promise how good things are going to be, and then everything ends up being as it has been,” he told DN
“The supporters are the only ones who fall for it, spending a lot of money and getting used.”
AIK is one of three Allsvenskan-level clubs located in the Stockholm area. The club is known for having some of the country’s most rowdy fans.
Mattias Grundström, a lawyer with the KO who is himself an AIK supporter, confirmed that Gahlin’s complaint had been received but didn’t think it would be a priority.
“I can understand that many in AIK feel troubled, but it’s not the same as when a case deals with food prices, for example,” he said.
At the weekend, AIK dropped yet another match 0-2 to Trelleborg, which trails AIK in the standings by several points.
“After the effort against Trelleborg, I can understand the public’s frustration, but I don’t think that the Consumer Agency is going to take action against AIK Fotball AB,” Grundström told DN.
AIK communications director Sophie Josefsson says the club plans to review its product description.
“It’s great that AIK means so much to people that they react and push the issue,” she said.
For his part, Gahlin simply hopes that the club accepts the criticism and stops promising things it can't deliver only to then cry to fans when things don’t go well.
“They can apologize instead for not delivering the product they are selling,” he said.
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