Liverpool fans’ £6k bill for £20 Euro final hotel
Kiev’s rip-off prices for football showpiece
LIVERPOOL fans face paying thousands for hotel rooms normally costing £20 if they travel to Kiev for the Champions League final.
A double room in three-star Hotel Nivki, five miles from the centre, was £6,164 on booking.com yesterday.
The following Saturday a twin room there is up for grabs for just £20.
Air fares have also rocketed after the Reds clinched their place in the final against Read Madrid on Wednesday.
A seven-hour flight from Manchester with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul was £1,372 on Skyscanner. Tickets from London are cheaper, with an 11-hour trip via Athens costing £947 with Aegean Airlines and Ukraine International.
The cheapest price yesterday was a return from Gatwick with Belavia Belarusian Airlines via Minsk for £484.
Both Liverpool and Real have each been allocated 16,626 tickets for the final on May 26, despite the Olimpiyskiy stadium having a capacity of 63,000. The most expensive seats cost £394, with the cheapest priced at £61.
Liverpool fan Leon Baker, 37, said: “There is no doubt the travel firms are exploiting the situation.
“Airlines know if one fan can’t afford it, there will be another one queuing up to take their place.”
Leon was one of 5,000 Liverpool fans who travelled to Rome for the second leg of the semi-final.
Yesterday police praised them for their “exceptional behaviour”.
Chief Superintendent Dave Charnock, of Merseyside Police, said: “I would like to commend the Liverpool fans. It was all very good natured.”