April 10 – Fans’ group Football Supporters Europe has criticised UEFA’s allocation of 12,000 tickets per club for the Europa League final at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The allocation accounts for 50% of the venue’s 48,000 capacity.
“A paltry 50% of capacity for Europa League finalist clubs is, simply, not good enough,” said FSE.
“[It] falls well short of FSE’s demand to provide at least 66% of tickets for all European finals to supporters of the teams involved. Fans of competing teams need to be given clear priority over public sale options.
“Based on previous experiences, a higher allocation of tickets for general sale will significantly fuel black market ticket activity, exploiting fans’ loyalty in the process.”
UEFA said it made its decision “after extensive discussions with the local authorities regarding logistical operations as well as the designated access routes to the ends of the stadium occupied by supporters of each of the finalists”.
In March, UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis warned it “would be extremely challenging” to accommodate supporters if clubs with bigger fanbases reached the Europa League final.
Meanwhile this season’s Champions League finalists will receive a combined 58% allocation of 25,000 tickets each for the match at Wembley on June 1.
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