Liverpool and Real Madrid booked their places in this season’s Champions League final in Paris this week, four years after the pair last met at this stage in Kyiv.
These clubs are no strangers to Europe’s biggest stage but once again ticket allocations and prices are a topic of conversation among supporters.
The Stade de France holds a capacity of over 80,000 but Liverpool and Real have received an allocation of less than 20,000 each, with 12,000 additional tickets already taken in a general sale last month.
The ticket prices also peak at €690, which is absurd for one game of football.
This has sparked the Liverpool supporters’ union, the Spirit of Shankly, to write to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, asking for the final to be made accessible to the average supporter.
The letter states via The Liverpool Echo:
“For thousands, there will be no trip to Paris because there will be a shortage of tickets. Again.
“Stade de France, the venue for the final, holds 75,000. LFC and Madrid, each receive shy of 20,000. In total, loyal supporters will make up just over 52% of the capacity crowd.
“A free-for-all public ballot accounts for 12,000 (16%), and the remainder of the allocation will be given to the UEFA ‘family’ and mostly corporate sponsors.”, said the letter about the allocation.
The message continued: “Unfortunately, for some of those lucky enough to get a ticket, the cost will be prohibitive. There are four price categories, ranging from €70 to €690, The majority of tickets are in category 3 and cost €180 each. There are no concessions for over-65s or under-16s. Previously child-adult packages have been available, but no more.
“Since 2018 when LFC last played RM in the final, UEFA’s ticket revenue has gone from €3.06m to €4.22m, which equates to a 38% increase in four years.
“Similarly, UEFA’s proposed changes to their club competitions in the future ignore the interests of the fans. Football supporters are tired of being ripped off. Tired of watching their team reach a final, but unable to find a ticket to attend. And tired of exorbitant prices.
“It’s time UEFA recognised the power of fans and the importance of fans above sponsorships.”
This is a powerful message to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who used fans as a way to belittle the Super League last year and now it’s time to show that they actually mean something.
Many fans dream of going to a Champions League final in their lifetime and it’s hard enough for the team to get to the stage without UEFA putting further restrictions on fans’ dreams.
Half of a stadium’s capacity going to the fans of the clubs involved is not right and either is €690 for a single ticket. Football is a working-class game but it continuously shows its fans that isn’t the case anymore.