Former Flybe staff who won tickets to a Gallagher Premiership rugby game said they were rejected at the gates.
The tickets were given to Flybe as part of a sponsorship deal with Exeter Chiefs and were handed out to staff in prize draws in recent months.
The airline, who were based in the local area and had sponsored the club since 2010, went out of business this week.
@ExeterChiefs I hope you are suitably ashamed and provide appropriate compensation 🧐
— David J Sunderland (@DJSunders) March 8, 2020
Devon Live: Outrage as ex Flybe staff turned away at Exeter Chiefs gates.https://t.co/hrYzZGZvQL
via @GoogleNews
However staff did not know that tickets won earlier in the year would no longer be valid.
Tanya Lloyd said she was refused entry to the Exeter Chiefs game against Bath at the end of possibly “one of the worst weeks of my career”.
She arrived at Sandy Park stadium on Saturday with tickets to be told they had “been cancelled”.
Another of the affected Flybe staff, Jon Sharpe, was also a coach for Exeter Chiefs youth for nearly six years until a couple of years ago.
Speaking to Devon Live, he said: “I love the Chiefs and this goes totally against what I believe they stand for.”
He added: “It’s just very sad that this could happen. Somebody had presumably made a decision to cancel the tickets. I would have expected more.”
Exeter Chiefs said it did not want to comment but confirmed Flybe had sponsored the club since 2010.