At yesterday’s meeting of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee (CCC) in Monaco, members voted to introduce a series of new measures to protect away fans from unscrupulous pricing policies.
These measures include a price cap on away tickets set at 70 EUR in the Champions League and 45 EUR in the Europa League, a move to prevent clubs from agreeing with one another to overcharge away fans, and greater scrutiny of what constitutes a “comparable category” for home and away sectors.
The introduction of a cap follows a worrying inflation of away ticket prices in recent seasons, which culminated earlier this year when FC Barcelona charged Liverpool and Manchester United fans an all-time record price of 119 EUR. It is based on the current price of a category 4 ticket for the finals of UEFA club competitions.
The price cap will come into force immediately.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) have consistently lobbied for such policies, working with national and club-based supporters’ organisations to collect hard, reliable data and develop practical proposals. During the same period, FSE have worked closely with UEFA to ensure that these proposals informed the debate and influenced key stakeholders.
FSE therefore welcome today’s announcement as a step in the right direction. Executive Director Ronan Evain, who has been in Monaco this week to meet with UEFA officials, commented:
“This represents progress, and we commend UEFA for their forward thinking. The cap will eliminate the most egregious cases of overpricing, but it is, in our opinion, still too high. Thankfully, the impact of the new regulation will be reviewed at the end of the season, and as such, we will focus our efforts on lobbying the relevant parties to lower it.”
Data collected by FSE shows that 12.5 percent of games exceeded the cap during the 2018/19 season.
“We call on clubs to charge fair prices and take into consideration that away fans travel long distances and spend their hard-earned money to the benefit of host clubs and cities. They deserve recognition and protection. We will also continue to campaign for better hosting conditions.”, Evain added.
After the decision was made public, UEFA stated:
“These measures are a result of constructive dialogue with supporters’ representatives. UEFA values the dedication and contribution of away fans, and we will continue to actively work with FSE to improve overall hosting conditions for away fans.”