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West Ham United fans to be 'ripped off' after Conference League final ticket update - Henry Winter
West Ham United fans have been “ripped off” by UEFA as only 4,890 tickets have been allocated for their Europa Conference League final tie against Fiorentina in Prague, according to Henry Winter.
The Hammers reached their first major European final since 1976 after they overcame Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar 3-1 on aggregate on Thursday [18 May].
Having won the first leg at London Stadium 2-1, the Hammers were resolute away to their Dutch opponents, reaching the final in Prague on 7 June with a 1-0 second-leg win after Pablo Fornals made scored late on.
However, as the Hammers set their minds for the final showpiece on 7 June, some fans may not be too pleased by the allocation of just under 5000 tickets for a 20,000 seater Eden Arena in the Czech capital.
And The Times journalist Winter took to his personal Twitter account [19 May] to report the news and express his dismay at UEFA’s allocation decision.
He tweeted: “West Ham United given allocation of only 4,890 tickets for the Europa Conference League final (same as Fiorentina).
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“Eden Arena holds only 20,000. Many ticketless fans will travel to Prague (a great city). Fans will be ripped off on secondary sites. Uefa understandably shares finals around but this is far too small.”
Ridiculous
West Ham United fans will certainly be heading to Prague in their droves and packs as they look to claim a historic European win next month, but not many of them will be allowed in the stadium which is rather baffling.
These European showpieces are supposed to be the envy of clubs around Europe so for UEFA to provide a 20,000-seater stadium for the final is simply ridiculous and rather disrespectful to a competition that has really provided a lot of excitement since its emergence in 2021.
We saw how delighted AS Roma were for winning the competition last season, and West Ham United could rejoice in the same fate should they triumph in Prague but won’t be able to share it with many of their fans because of the little allocations handed out.
The fact that only up to 10,000 fans may be given seats for a 20,000 stadium just rather lessons the excitement for what is set to be an intriguing showpiece.
This really isn’t a great advertisement by UEFA for a competition they are supposedly holding in good esteem alongside the Champions League and Europa League. What kind of message is this sending to clubs participating in the competition every year?