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Ally McCoist and Laura Woods rage at UEFA as West Ham United Europa Conference League final update emerges
Ally McCoist and Laura Woods were left absolutely raging after hearing that West Ham fans will be allocated less than 5,000 tickets for the Europa Conference League final.
The Hammers reached their first European Cup final since 1976 with a win over AZ Alkmaar last week, setting up a clash with Serie A club Fiorentina in Prague on June 7th.
But after it emerged the clubs will only get 4,890 tickets each from 20,000 capacity stadium, both McCoist and Woods were furious while appearing on the talkSPORT breakfast show (23 May).
“It’s shocking, it really is,” he said.
“I mean you’re talking about clubs and I’m speaking about West Ham, I know Rangers knocked Fiorentina out of a cup semi-final years ago in Florence, but clubs like West Ham who the supporters have been starved of success.
“I know not everybody can get tickets, I get that. But we’re talking about a European final. Okay it’s not Europa League or Champions League, but it’s a European Conference League final.
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“For both clubs to get less than 5,000 tickets. The whole object of this tournament is to give West Ham a chance. So don’t play it in a small stadium or a stadium where they can only get 4,900. Play it in a massive stadium or in a stadium where they can enjoy it. That’s the objective of the whole exercise.”
“Don’t try and convince the world that your competition isn’t tinpot when you go and do that,” Woods chipped in. “Otherwise nobody is going to want to be in it.
“Where are we playing the final? The Dog and Duck.”
Disgrace
It’s an absolute disgrace that UEFA have picked a tiny stadium to host a European Cup final after trying to make out as if this tournament really means something to them.
The first ever final last year between AS Roma and Feyenoord was a similar issue, played in Albania in a stadium that only held 22,500 people.
But this is even smaller and with two huge clubs like West Ham and Fiorentina competing for their first silverware in a long time, you can expect thousands of fans now to travel without tickets to support their teams which will just cause issues.
Cup finals are supposed to be a huge event that celebrate the achievements of the teams and give the fans a chance to witness history, but less than 5,000 tickets is less than we get to some away games domestically.
It’s pathetic from UEFA and proves that they don’t really care about the tournament whatsoever, and it’s just a quick money grab for them to have more teams involved so they can get a cut.