By Andrew Warshaw
May 19 – UEFA have defended the choice of Basel’s St Jacob stadium for Wednesday’s Europa League final between Liverpool and Sevilla.
The stadium had a capacity of only around 35,000 and UEFA have been criticised over the official allocation of 10,000 tickets for each of the finalists.
Ticket touts did a roaring trade among Liverpool supporters, thousands of whom turned up without tickets, with some seats reportedly going for up to €2,000.
While it is not possible for UEFA to know in advance which clubs will contest the final, the Champions League climax has usually been played at grounds with a minimum capacity of 50,000. Reports suggested Basle was ill-equipped to deal with the occasion and Liverpool and Sevilla fans were seen brawling with one another before kick-off in sections of the stadium where there was no visible police segregation or stewarding.
“Judging by the outcome, of course we would have all been far happier if the stadium had been bigger,” said Theodore Theodoridis, UEFA’s acting general secretary. “But if you look at the past, this was not the case in any recent (Europa League) finals. It’s very hard to speculate which clubs will participate. It’s a one-off but of course there will be a review and the appropriate decisions made for the future.”
On the field, Sevilla made history by clinching the title for the third time after coming from behind to win 3-1 and gain a coveted place in the Champions League, much to the disappointment of the legions of Liverpool fans whose team have now lost two finals in Jurgen Klopp’s first season in charge, having been edged out on penalties by Manchester City in the domestic League Cup final.
On a personal level, Klopp has now lost five successive finals – three with Borussia Dortmund and now two with Liverpool.
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