Pompey is '˜so much more than just the football club' according to supporters chief

Supporters of the club say that the word means more to them than just the football team – with a number of businesses adopting the name and the word becoming a colloquial term for the city as a whole.

Chairman of the Chichester Supporters Club, Del Pulley, says that the club ‘should never have considered’ the move.

He said: ‘I think that doing something like this is just a step too far.

‘You can’t get a trademark on the word Pompey because that word means so much more than just the football club.

‘The whole of the city has been known as Pompey for so long now, I just don’t see how a football club can get that exclusive right to the word.

‘Everywhere you go, people refer to this city as Pompey. The word is so much bigger than the football club.

‘You see it on businesses, on social media and so on.

‘If I am being honest, I don’t think they should have even considered it – I don’t think it is right.’

But Simon Colebrook, chairman of the Pompey Supporters Trust, says that talks over who can and can’t use the word are still ongoing.

He said: ‘This is something that we have been talking about a lot recently and engaging with the club.

‘We actually spoke to the club about it just a couple of weeks ago.

‘We are looking to see what implications there will be for groups such as ourselves.

‘The Pompey Supporters Club doesn’t have an official stance on this at the moment.

‘What I will say is that it’s important for people to engage with the club about this going forward.’

Portsmouth City Council and Trading Standards has clamped down on counterfeit merchandise in the past, ahead of the 2008 FA Cup final.