Portsmouth FC's new turnstile scanners failed their first real test — at kickoff

On 20 September 2021 Portsmouth FC apologised after fans suffered long delays entering Fratton Park for the previous Saturday's League One match against Cambridge — the first time the club's new entry system for season ticket holders was operational. Some supporters missed up to 15 minutes of the match, and fans on social media called the scenes a 'total shambles' and 'feeble justification for lack of organisation'.

The club said confusion over the new scanners was the core problem: season cards had to be scanned rather than inserted into the old barcode readers, and supporters unaware of this had cards rejected — which, combined with steward numbers still below optimum due to industry-wide staff shortages, 'more than double[d] the entry time for many supporters'. It also admitted fans 'were not made properly aware of new ticket scanning procedures'; one fan noted the letter accompanying season tickets never explained how to use the card.

Portsmouth said the pandemic's 'unique circumstance' had made it impossible to test the system at a pre-season friendly, on top of relocating many season ticket holders due to stadium development works and capacity cuts, and said it had monitored similar problems at other clubs. It promised a video guide on using the system before the next home match against Sunderland. Other clubs, including Southampton, had similar early-season entry issues. No further outcomes are given.

Fans missed up to 15 minutes of the Cambridge match; the club apologised, admitted it had not explained the scanning procedure, and promised a video guide

A procedure change — scan, don't insert — was shipped without testing it on a crowd or telling the crowd.

The instruction gap sat inside the season-ticket pack, the one document every affected fan was guaranteed to read.

Staff shortages removed the human fallback that usually rescues turnstile confusion.

Stadium works had already relocated many season ticket holders, adding unfamiliarity on top of a new system.

Never let a match be the first test of your entry system — untested procedure plus short staffing doubles everyone's wait.

Portsmouth apologised publicly on 20 September 2021 and committed to releasing a video guide before the Sunderland home match the following month. No compensation or further results are reported.