Four-midable HMH

Loyal supporters left scrambling around for the golden ticket

HAVE YOU got the hottest ticket in town? That’s the million dollar question … literally. The Champions League final in Madrid has been a hot topic since Lucas Moura’s last-gasp winner against Ajax in Amsterdam, with supporters from both Liverpool and Spurs scrambling for the same ticket. What is proving to be a golden ticket.

Since beating Barcelona in the semifinals, I’ve been on a mission to secure a pair of Liverpool tickets for the showpiece match.

I know of hundreds of people in the same position. Despite holding two season-tickets, I didn’t strike it lucky in the Liverpool ballot, but to my regret, had the club adopted the same loyalty points scheme as Spurs, I’d have got them no sweat.

But it’s hard to point the finger at the clubs. Indeed it’s their fans who are under greater scrutiny, with Spurs the first to ban three supporters indefinitely for listing their tickets for sale on secondary ticketing platforms earlier this week.

Meanwhile, those desperate for tickets, who follow their team around the country almost religiously, are being asked for vast sums of money, dare I say more than three times what they are paying for a season ticket. It’s one big farce.

Had it been Ajax and not Spurs, I’m confident I’d have a ticket by now. But the fact that it’s two Premier League clubs in the final heading to Spain means that tickets, flights and hotel prices have gone through the roof.

I’ve virtually exhausted my book of contacts but as yet, no-one has been able to offer something I wouldn’t have to sell a body part for.

Uefa also have a lot to answer for. Corporate hospitality and sponsors have been given a massive chunk of tickets, but the demand from genuine fans is different this year. Both Uefa and its sponsors could help by returning a proportion of these tickets, to help ease the bottleneck. These clients are laughing all the way to the bank at the expense of the fans who would do anything to attend the game.

They’re currently going for between £3,000-35,000

(for the top hospitality package), and it’s putting incredible pressure on the fans who are being outpriced by the lucky few who are effectively holding a blank cheque.

Will Uefa learn from this? I have my doubts. I’ve not given up hope just yet but time is running out. Sadly Uefa don’t seem to care and have let the whole mess unravel in front of them. We can only hope there aren’t too many

See Danny Caro’s weekend roundup at thejc.com/mgbsfl. Email dcaro@thejc.com and/or follow Danny on Twitter:@DjCaro