Grimsby Town fans have been banned from taking “iconic inflatable” fish into St Mary’s for their FA Cup fifth round tie against Southampton.
A statement from Grimsby said that a request to allow supporters to allow “Harry Haddocks” at the game had been turned down.
Close to 5,000 fans of the Mariners are expected to travel to Southampton on Wednesday 1 March for the club’s first fifth round FA Cup fixture in nearly three decades.
A Grimsby Town statement said: “The Club have today received confirmation from Southampton that Harry Haddocks will not be permitted at St Mary’s for our Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round tie.
We made initial requests to the Premier League club last week for our supporters to be able to take the iconic inflatable to our Fifth Round tie on Wednesday 1st March but this afternoon our hosts officially declined the request.
Southampton have made similar refusals to other clubs throughout this campaign and it is not just a decision aimed at Mariners supporters. Any supporters who take Harry Haddocks into the stadium will have them confiscated.”
Once the centre of the British fishing industry, Grimsby was believed to be perhaps the largest and busiest fishing port in the world during the 1950s.
It remains a major employer in the Lincolnshire town, with more than half of the United Kingdom’s fish processing industry located in the town.
Southampton’s ban is not the first time that “Harry Haddocks” have been barred.
In 2017, Barnet refused to allow inflatables at their League Two meeting two years after a Grismby Town fan had been found guilty of assaulting a steward with a blow-up shark at the same fixture.
In response to the ban, Grimsby supporters raised more than £1,000 to pay for a Mariachi band to attend the game.
