30.08.2019 16:57 h

UEFA cap Champions League ticket prices at 70 euros for away fans

Tickets for away fans in this season's Champions League will be capped at 70 euros ($77), UEFA announced on Friday following complaints from supporters in recent years.

Tickets will also be capped at 45 euros for away fans in the Europa League, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin saying: "Fans are the lifeblood of the game and those who follow their teams to away matches must have access to tickets at a reasonable price, bearing in mind the cost they have already had to incur for their trip."

The move comes after both Manchester United and Liverpool were angered by Barcelona charging 119 euros for away tickets in the Champions League last season.

In response, the English sides raised their own prices for visiting Barca fans and used the additional revenue to subsidise their supporters' costs.

United also did this for Sevilla when the sides met in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2018.

"By capping ticket prices, we want to make sure that away fans can still travel to games and play their part in making the atmosphere inside football stadiums so special," Ceferin added.

The new price cap comes into effect immediately. UEFA said the new maximum prices were equivalent to the lowest category ticket price for the Champions League and Europa League finals respectively.

"This represents progress, and we commend UEFA for their forward thinking," Football Supporters Europe Executive Director Ronan Evain said in a statement.

"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."

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MANCHESTER UNITED