FOOTBALL shirts at football matches have gone hand in hand for many years, but it is tradition that seems hard to stomach for some.On a day when a goal-hungry Town team got back on track on the pitch, off it the prawn sandwich brigade were busy making a meal of their day out.

FOOTBALL shirts at football matches have gone hand in hand for many years, but it is tradition that seems hard to stomach for some.

On a day when a goal-hungry Town team got back on track on the pitch, off it the prawn sandwich brigade were busy making a meal of their day out.

For it this select group of fans who believe it undermines the "exclusiveness" of the stadium's executive areas to be seen in the famous Ipswich Town blue and white.

A flurry of complaints about people abusing the "smart-casual dress code" has led to the club vowing to clamp-down on the issue.

A letter sent out to corporate members prior to the Walsall match warned anyone not "suitably attired" would be refused entry to the ground.

This has given rise to jibes that the home and away strips are too vulgar to be seen in on smart occasions.

But what do the fans themselves think of the situation? We tried to get a flavour of opinion prior to Saturday's match.

Angela Ife, of Chelmsford, said: "I suppose some people think they're going out for a smart day but you wear the shirt to support your team. I think wearing the shirt is part of being a supporter and you should be able to wear it if you want to."

Robert Worth, 73, of West Bergholt, said: "I think it should be up to the individual. They shouldn't come to football if they don't want to be shirts. It used to be a working man's game but it's changed a lot in my lifetime."

Joe Street, 17, of Colchester, said: "If you wear your shirt, it shows you support your team. It would want to wear to my shirt if I was in there. I reckon the people who sit in the corporate boxes want to look smart but I think the shirts look smart."

Matt Tiffen, 17, of Colchester, said: "I think it's stupid (banning shirts from the executive areas). I think you should wear your shirt because you're proud of the team. I wear my shirt because I'm proud to be an Ipswich fan and I think it's toffee nosed to say you can't wear it in executive boxes."

Evan Laughlin, 39, of Bury St Edmunds, said: "I think if you are going into executive areas there's no need to wear the team shirt. You can wear so much smart stuff without wearing the shirt and still have the Ipswich logo."

Kayleigh Laughlin, 12, of Bury St Edmunds, said: "Just because you don't wear a shirt, it doesn't make you any less of a supporter. It's not a big deal."

Brian Blowers, 54, of Lowestoft, said: "What's the point of having a football shirt you can't wear? If you pay for it, you should be able to wear it."