The biggest difference is that there was a non football event on at the same time as the Birmingham game. I think the frequency compared to other events at the arena is also a consideration.
Vik showed far more than Ayari when he first came here and got the reaction you describe - which makes me find it so hard to understand why anyone sees anything in Ayari.
Don’t know, haven’t seen that.
Edit - looked it up and there was a vote to change the rules 12 December 23. Will be interesting to see if anyone does continue to offer such long contracts as it could still bit them on the backside,