Liverpool, Spurs fans call on sponsors to hand over Champions League tickets

Published on: May 17, 2019 1:01 AM

LONDON: Liverpool and Tottenham fans are calling on sponsors to return a portion of their Champions League ticket allocations so more supporters can attend next month’s all-English final in Madrid. Both clubs have received around 16,600 tickets apiece for the June 1 meeting at the Wanda Metropolitano, which has a capacity of 63,500 for the final, meaning demand will far outweigh supply. About 22,300 tickets have been made available to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme. Liverpool group Spirit of Shankly (SOS) and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) have asked for sponsors to consider giving some of their allocation to fans who will miss out. “Spirit of Shankly and Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust – the independent official fan groups of LFC and THFC – are calling on the main sponsors of the UEFA Champions League to return a proportion of the tickets they have received for the Champions League final to the pot for supporters of both clubs,” said a joint statement. “We ask Nissan, PlayStation, Gazprom, PepsiCo, Banco Santander, Mastercard, Heineken and Expedia Group to help redress the balance in the current unfair allocation that means fans of both competing clubs receive less than 25 percent of available tickets.” The statement also called for each sponsor to lobby UEFA to allocate tickets for future finals “on a fairer, more equitable split”. Fans have also seen prices for flights and hotels skyrocket since they both produced remarkable semi-final comebacks last week, Liverpool beating Barcelona and Spurs overcoming Ajax.