Supporters’ groups from Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea have joined forces to condemn UEFA’s “disgraceful” treatment of fans for the upcoming European club finals.
The four Premier League clubs’ fan groups slated the governing body for several issues over ticket allocation and the cost of traveling to the Champions League final in Madrid and the Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust and Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly group have suggested a ticket price cap and increased transparency over allocation. The fan groups saw flights to Madrid skyrocket by up to 840 per cent.
Liverpool and Spurs have each been allocated 16,613 tickets for the final in Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium, which has a capacity of 68,000
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, said, according to the Telegraph newspaper: “These decisions, they must be much more sensible. It just looks irresponsible. A solution maybe, in the cities who get the final, maybe they have to make a price cut? I heard a room [in Madrid] that is normally £100 is now £2,700? Just crazy.
“Madrid is unbelievably expensive but who decides Baku for a European final? Or Kiev? I don’t know what the people who decide these things have for breakfast.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Arsenal supporters have been allocation just 6,000 tickets each in Baku’s 68,700-seater Olympic Stadium in the Europa League final.
UEFA defended its decision Friday stating that the size of Baku’s airport meant that only around 15,000 fans would be able to travel to Azerbaijan from abroad. The governing body said offering more tickets would therefore “not be a responsible option”.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said that Baku is “one of the most inaccessible cities in Europe from the UK” and “must be about the worst location there is.”
Image: Tuga M
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