Another ticket thread

[Dhav]

If true this is a disgrace:-

"Although Liverpool received only 20,000 tickets for the Champions League final against Milan in Istanbul two years ago, around 40,000 supporters were thought to have found their way into the Ataturk Stadium and Parry believes that the same will happen at the Olympic Stadium, whose capacity has been reduced from 72,000 to 63,000 to accommodate extra advertising hoardings."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle1774745.ece

[Red_Polo]

Kinell

I knew they'd reduced the capacity, but I'd assumed it was for safety reasons or some ****e. If everything about football continues to become more and more about commerce then the joy will go out of the game for a lot of people.

[anfieldanfield]

Wasn't the 'official' capacity of the Attaturk 65,000 ?

Loads more will get in somehow.

[Mr Tourette]

If true this is a disgrace:-

"Although Liverpool received only 20,000 tickets for the Champions League final against Milan in Istanbul two years ago, around 40,000 supporters were thought to have found their way into the Ataturk Stadium and Parry believes that the same will happen at the Olympic Stadium, whose capacity has been reduced from 72,000 to 63,000 to accommodate extra advertising hoardings."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle1774745.ece

unfortunately, completely believable though.

[Rhys]

shocking i wondered why only 63,000 seats were being used

[mick the click]

Here's the article - Parry has a lot of faith in us pirates, but it shouldn't really take this tone.

Athens ticket chaos leaves Liverpool on the back foot
James Ducker

It is the showpiece event of the European football calendar, but preparations for the Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan in Athens on May 23 have become a shambles because of security fears sparked by controversial ticketing arrangements.

As a row escalated between Uefa, European football’s governing body, and Liverpool yesterday, the Greek authorities were facing up to the prospect of thousands of supporters descending upon the country’s capital without tickets. With the Greek police threatening to strike on the day of the final in a dispute over pay and working conditions, there is mounting concern that trouble could flare, especially after the problems involving English clubs in Europe this season.

Liverpool are furious that, like Milan, they have received only 17,000 tickets, but their complaints have cut little ice with Uefa or their own fans, who, as well as preparing to bid farewell to Robbie Fowler, who is likely to play his final game for the club against Charlton Athletic at Anfield on Sunday, are planning to hold a demonstration before and/or during the game in protest at the club’s “shambolic” distribution of tickets.

Hundreds of supporters who were banking on attending the final are now having to cancel flights and hotel rooms, although many are expected to travel regardless of whether they have a ticket or not. Only 16 disabled fans will be accommodated.

Rick Parry, the Liverpool chief executive, attempted to defend the distribution process in an 800-word statement yesterday, but while his dismay at the club’s allocation was understandable given that Uefa’s restrictions have generated a black market worth a reputed £5 million, it does not hide the fact that Champions League clubs have known for months what the allocations for the final would be.

“If you look back at previous finals it’s always been a similar number, so it’s not something new,” a spokesman for Uefa told The Times. “Clubs have known for a long time what kind of allocation there would be for the final.”

Although Liverpool received only 20,000 tickets for the Champions League final against Milan in Istanbul two years ago, around 40,000 supporters were thought to have found their way into the Ataturk Stadium and Parry believes that the same will happen at the Olympic Stadium, whose capacity has been reduced from 72,000 to 63,000 to accommodate extra advertising hoardings.

Aside from the 34,000 tickets allocated to Liverpool and Milan, 9,000 have been put on general sale, many of which may be sold on the black market, where prices have reached as high as £1,500 each.

Internet auction sites were last night warning supporters to be on the alert for scams, but Uefa has conceded that there will be virtually no way of stemming the tide of illegal tickets. A further 8,000 have been reserved for commercial partners and broadcasters, 7,000 for Uefa’s “football family”, 3,000 for the Greek FA and its member organisations and 1,250 for corporate guests.

Parry said: “When you only get 17,000 tickets, you are never going to find a system of distribution that is anything but a problem. We have told Uefa there will be 40,000 Liverpool fans in the ground by hook or by crook.”

However, Liverpool fans are more annoyed with the club than Uefa.

There has been widespread criticism of the controversial Fan Card system, which put supporters who have bought tickets for six or more Champions League games – home or away – in the same ballot on Wednesday with season ticket-holders.

Terry Culligan, 44, a season ticket-holder from West Derby, who missed out on a ticket despite already paying £400 for a flight to Athens, said: “I paid £610 for my season ticket and someone who buys a Fan Card for £3 is put in the ballot at the same time. Words fail me.”

Parry defended the system by saying that it had been common knowledge among supporters. “There will be argument from those who have been to every European game in the last 50 years who say their loyalty is greater, and I accept they have a point, but if we set the rules at the start of the season it is only fair we stick by them,” he said.

Liverpool declined to detail how many tickets were made available in the ballot, saying that the club would “not be drawn into the numbers game”.


To be found at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle1774745.ece

[Morph]

thought it was widley known that this was part of the issue with tickets, i was reading something today that basically the stadium wasn't built for football and so many parts of the ground had to be rebuilt, to make it suitable

as for the advertising boards, well thats been common knowledge for a while now