Exclusive: Fans groups lobby Uefa over loophole allowing British supporters to be charged more for tickets abroad
British football fans are having to pay exorbitant prices to watch their teams in Europe because of a “terrible” ticketing policy that targets supporters of wealthy clubs, the head of the European supporters’ federation has warned.
Ronan Evain, the chief executive of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), has said that more and more clubs are using a loophole in Uefa rules in order to charge high amounts to travelling fans in the Champions League and Europa League.
FSE is now lobbying Uefa to tighten its regulations and prevent clubs from hiking prices for away fans after supporters from England, Germany and France were among those targeted this season.
Liverpool fans must pay £73 for a ticket to next month’s Champions League semi-final with Roma, having already paid £66 — three times more than home fans — to attend the round-of-16 match against Porto earlier this season. The Spirit of Shankly Liverpool fan group group said the price for tickets to the semi-final was “appalling”.
According to FSE figures, Roma charged Shakhtar Donetsk fans €50 (£43) for tickets for their round-of-16 tie earlier this year, while Porto charged RB Leipzig fans €50 for their group stage match.
“There is a general perception that if a club is rich, then its fans are rich,” Evain told the Daily Telegraph. “There is a belief that if a club has a huge support, then the share of fans who are able to afford expensive tickets is bigger.
“As British football is the richest in Europe, the fans of British clubs are regularly targeted. But we also have examples of fans from French and German clubs who have suffered from the same ticketing policy.”
Under Uefa regulations, the price of tickets for supporting teams must not exceed “the price paid for tickets of a comparable category that are sold to supporters of the home team”.
But clubs such as Roma and Porto have offered discounted tickets to home fans who are season ticket-holders or members, meaning that their supporters are paying considerably less for tickets when there is no general sale, as is often the case with bigger ties such as knockout games.
“Our argument is that if the clubs know they are going to sell everything in pre-sale, then they are in breach of Uefa regulations,” Evain said. “If the whole of the home section has access to the pre-sale prices, then the fans in the away sector are paying higher prices than the fans in the home sector. When 95 per cent of the stadium has a discount, this is not a discount any more.
“If they are not in breach then the regulation is too loose and is allowing too many loopholes. Clubs are getting smarter in the way they approach the Uefa regulations and these kind of terrible ideas are travelling pretty fast in European football.”
In February, Anderlecht were ordered by Uefa to partially refund Bayern Munich fans after charging €100 (£87) for tickets. Anderlecht supporters had only been able to buy tickets for the match as part of a package deal for multiple games.
“They sold in a bundle, but the result was the same in that there was no general sale,” Evain said. “So everybody that was going to the game in Anderlecht had a discount except for the away fans.
“The fact that Anderlecht was fined was clearly a step forward in Uefa accepting there is a problem with the discount policy.”
Earlier this year, Sevilla charged Manchester United fans €100 for tickets to their round-of-16 match. United responded by subsidising their supporters but also by increasing the price for Sevilla fans who were attending the second leg at Old Trafford.
A Uefa spokesman said: “Since the pricing strategy regarding ticketing is under the responsibility of the home club, our focus is on encouraging dialogue between the clubs to resolve any disputes or avoid any disagreements. Breaches of the regulations can result in disciplinary proceedings being opened.”
