UEFA awarded Basel this season’s Europa League final "despite repeated warnings from supporters’ groups about the risks of staging the fixture at low-capacity venues," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. European football’s governing body "has been accused of putting football politics and commercial considerations above the needs of ordinary fans after it emerged most of those who roared Liverpool into their first European final for nine years would miss out on tickets for their showdown with Sevilla in 11 days’ time." News that Liverpool supporters had been allocated just 10,236 tickets in the 35,000-seat arena "also sparked fears of a repeat of the chaos that marred their 2007 Champions League final in Athens." Then, "some Liverpool fans without tickets gained entry to the match." Manager Jürgen Klopp urged ticketless fans "to travel to Switzerland." He said, "It’s worth going even if you don’t have a ticket to enjoy the city. We can’t think about the size of the stadium. If you ask who wants to see this final you will find 30 million people so there is no chance. It’s like this." Liverpool in a statement said, "To ensure the safety and well-being of fans, the club urges supporters who do not have a ticket not to travel to the St. Jakob Park Stadium on the day of the game." UEFA "had been warned about the potential problems of staging the Europa League final at such grounds even before Basel was selected as host almost two years ago." Football Supporters’ Federation CEO Kevin Miles "also wrote to the governing body in March urging it to consider awarding the final to stadiums with capacities of more than 50,000, but received a dismissive reply" (TELEGRAPH, 5/6). The London GUARDIAN reported UEFA confirmed its allocation for the match on May 18 at St. Jakob-Park would be 47% of the 35,000 capacity. The remaining tickets are divided between a “contractual supporter allocation” of 41%, which includes seasonal hospitality members and priority rights holders (former shareholders), 10% to matchday officials and players plus a final 2% to contractual partners. Liverpool has 27,000 season ticket holders "and took 32,000 to the Capital One Cup final in February." UEFA "advised Liverpool supporters who will travel to Switzerland without a ticket to stay away from the stadium." A statement said, “We advise anyone without tickets not to approach the stadium on the day of the final since safety and security measures will be very tight. The stadium perimeter will be reinforced in order to guarantee safe and secure entrance for all ticket holders” (GUARDIAN, 5/6).
UEFA DISMISSES COMPLAINTS: REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported UEFA "dismissed complaints that the Europa League final venue in Basel is too small." UEFA spokesperson Pedro Pinto said the final venues were chosen almost two years in advance due to "the enormous logistical effort involved."
He said the stadium, which hosted matches at Euro 2008, as one of Europe's "elite venues," adding that capacity was just one factor taken into account. He said, "UEFA tends to select slightly smaller, top-quality venues for the UEFA Europa League final. ... The number of supporters requesting final tickets varies from club to club, and of course it is impossible to predict in advance which clubs will reach the final" (REUTERS, 5/6). In London, Liam Corless wrote the ticket allocation for the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the San Siro "has also been questioned after it emerged only 40,000 of the 71,500 available tickets will go to fans of both clubs." Jacinto Fernandez of Real Madrid supporters' group Guadrrama said, "I don't like it but I expect it and we have to accept that because no matter how much we complain we won't get anywhere" (DAILY MIRROR, 5/6).
MUM'S THE WORD: In Liverpool, James Pearce wrote Klopp "banned talk of the Europa League final in the Liverpool dressing room." The Liverpool's season hinges on its "crunch showdown with Sevilla in Basel on May 18." However, before then Liverpool had three Premier League matches "to play and Klopp has demanded that they finish their domestic duties on a high." Klopp wrote, "It is absolutely not allowed to think of only the Europa League final between now and the 18th of May" (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 5/8).
