SOCCER:MICHEL PLATINI, the Uefa president, has apologised for the record high prices of tickets for the Champions League final at Wembley next month, and said in future the governing body may consider introducing a cheaper category for families.
He has also pledged to consult fans’ groups before setting ticket prices, according to the umbrella organisation Football Supporters Europe (FSE).
Only fans of the two teams that progress to the final on May 28th are able to buy the cheapest tickets, which cost €95. The lowest tariff for those on public sale is €175, 13 per cent more than for last year’s final in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Second-tier prices are up by 16 per cent to €260, a third category costs €175, and the most expensive ticket is €350, a 17 per cent rise. The adult-child combined ticket costs €400. All tickets carry a €30 booking levy.
Platini said of the prices: “It was a mistake, it was not good. It was not easy to decide the price of the tickets in the final of the Champions League because we now receive 200,000 requests for these (priced) tickets, and now on the black market it’s 10 times the price that we decide. That means it is not easy.”
Platini confirmed that after he had championed moving the final to a Saturday to allow more families to watch the showpiece game, he envisages a new price band to encourage their attendance.
“Perhaps in the future we will have another category for families (which will be) less expensive but if they put these on the black market too (it is not easy). It was not a good communication and I apologise for that,” he said.
Kevin Miles, the Football Supporters Federation representative who is on the 10-strong committee of the FSE, said Platini made the pledge to consult them before setting future ticket prices when he met the body last month at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
“Clearly we agree with Michel Platini that the Champions League final prices are excessive, and we welcome his apology. He takes responsibility, which I think is a good thing,” Miles said.
“At our recent meeting with him in Nyon, Mr Platini gave an undertaking that in future years supporters’ organisations would be consulted before the prices were finalised. And we look forward to being able to contribute to helping him avoid mistakes like this again.”
The English FA chairman David Bernstein, a Manchester City fan, has admitted it would be “very special” for Manchester United to reach the final.
He said: “We are very hopeful that Manchester United continue to progress and represent England. There’s no denying that Sir Alex Ferguson’s side face a tough task against Schalke, but to have an English team in the final at Wembley would be something special.”
GuardianService
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