Following a series of complaints addressed by Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and other stakeholders regarding the Champions League ticketing policy of Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht in their away section since the beginning of the season, FSE welcomes the opening of an investigation by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB).
Fans travelling to Anderlecht for European games this season had to pay exceptionally high ticket prices, culminating in a €100 fee for Bayern München and Paris Saint-Germain fans.
It is FSE’s understanding that this policy is potentially in breach of UEFA regulations, specifically Article 19 – Paragraph 3 of the UEFA Safety and Security Regulations, which specifies: “Price of tickets for supporters of the visiting team must not exceed the price paid for tickets of a comparable category that are sold to supporters of the home team.”
It is nevertheless necessary to clarify this regulation, since Anderlecht sold the majority of the tickets in the home sections in bundles, therefore impeding the enforcement of article 19-3. The worrying trend currently observed in the ticketing policy of European clubs for their away sections requires a reinforcement of UEFA regulations, taking into consideration the interests of all active supporters and the overall cost of travelling abroad for an away supporter.
FSE thanks its members from Bayern München, Paris Saint-Germain and Celtic FC, who all attended matches at Anderlecht’s Constant Vanden Stock Stadium during this year’s UEFA Champions’ League group stage, for their support in collecting the necessary information on the club’s ticketing policy.
Bayern fans organization and FSE member Club Nr. 12 commented:
“The away support from fans following their club from one end of Europe to the other is from our perspective an integral part of football culture. We expect decision makers in football – especially UEFA – to act on the matter. Many fans already ask themselves if they can afford a trip abroad. This question should not be replaced or amended by the question of whether they can afford the ticket when they get there.”
In order to support FSE’s effort to monitor safety, security and service conditions at European games, we call on all travelling supporters to complete the FSE Away Fans Survey, the only tool available to identify trends and serious discrepancies in ticketing policies.