Hull City fans who couldn't get a ticket for tomorrow's crunch Championship clash at Oakwell will try to sit with the home supporters, the Tigers' managing director Nick Thompson has warned.
The police rejected Hull's request for an additional 1,500 tickets for the West Stand after the Tigers sold their initial 5,750 allocation for the North Stand.
Barnsley's online ticket system had to be shut down for a few hours on Tuesday as Hull fans tried to buy tickets for the home end but Thompson says some will have been successful.
He told the Chronicle: "I'd imagine that there will be Barnsley supporters who have bought tickets for Hull fans. It's not far between the clubs and people from Hull will know friends and family in the South Yorkshire region. There's always ways around these situations. It's not ideal and it will make the game difficult to enjoy.
"It's a local derby, we could secure promotion and it's extremely disappointing. We have to recognise that we're in the entertainment business and fans are customers who pay to watch football. We have played Barnsley twice already this season and there's been no trouble. Our fans are enormously disappointed. Barnsley were prepared to give us as many tickets as possible but the police have rejected this."
Reds director Don Rowing said the club will do all it can to ban Hull fans from the home end but conceded it could happen. He said: "Hull supporters have tried to buy tickets from our website, they've rung the office trying to buy them and they'll come down on Saturday before the game.
"It wouldn't surprise me if they have another go once the turnstiles open too. We've had to bring in extra staff to monitor the ticket system online and it's another headache we could have done without. It's a huge game for both clubs and we all know the consequences of losing it.
"Here we are with our local police doing everything they can to stop us getting the money we need."
Rowing described the decision as a 'double whammy' after the police also rejected a bid from Sky to move the game to a 5.20pm kick-off, costing the club £80,000 in TV revenue.
Rowing said the club would also miss out on more than £20,000 in extra ticket sales. He added: "We offered to pay for more police officers and stewards but the police still wouldn't budge. The police represent the law and are allowing a small number of people to dictate when we have a game of football.
"I think it's a disgrace. I've been in football for more than 30 years and I wish the police would listen to people with experience. We were prepared to give Hull the corner of the West Stand which we've done for numerous clubs including Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves in the past. We've got to be very vigilant to ensure Hull supporters don't get in the Barnsley end. The police have caused a problem rather than solved one."
