Ars Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti call for Uefa to reduce the prices for Champions League final tickets
Leading Premier League managers have joined the criticism of the ticket prices for the Champions League final at Wembley.
High prices: climbers unveil a banner for Champions League final tickets at Wembley Stadium Photo: AP
By John Ley 7:55PM GMT 18 Feb 2011
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Arsène Wenger claimed major showpiece games should be free to supporters, while Carlo Ancelotti urged Uefa to do an about-turn and reduce the prices.
Uefa has made around 11,000 tickets available for neutral supporters at prcies ranging from £150 to £300, with each pair of tickets subject to an administration fee of £26.
The cheapest tickets for supporters of the two clubs contesting the final will be £80 – but Uefa has not yet specified how many of the 50,000 seats will be in that price bracket.
Ancelotti, who leads Chelsea against Marseille in the Champions League next week, said: “It is too much, too much. For £300 I can have a fantastic dinner and bottle of wine. I hope they reduce the prices.”
And Arsenal manager Wenger, whose side took a step closer to the final with a 2-1 win over Barcelona on Wednesday, called for the game on May 28 to be free.
“I don’t fix the prices and it’s very difficult to know how they do it,” said Wenger. “But, if you ask me, if it’s free it’s even better.”
Wenger insisted it was a problem for more than just the Champions League final, adding: “All the prices are too high now, for the fans, whether it’s the World Cup final, the Champions League final or the FA Cup final.”
Wenger’s team could cost the Arsenal fans a small fortune if they add a Champions League and FA Cup final appearance to the Carling Cup final day out, a week tomorrow, against Birmingham.
“It always looks to me to be very high,” said the Frenchman, who admitted the prices were because of the demand for tickets. “On the other hand, they never have enough tickets; I’m always surprised that people still turn up.
“I am for low prices in these kinds of finals. At least, you should have a big part of the stadium which is set at an affordable price.”
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation,
had previously claimed that the £26 administration fee was “the cherry on a particularly disgusting cake”, but Uefa claims that the prices are “based on the type of event” and that it does “do not want to squeeze every single penny out of the market”.
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