Liverpool Chief Executive Peter Moore has revealed that the club has taken fan complaints regarding the logistical issues of Saturday’s Champions League final to the ‘highest level’ of UEFA.
The Liverpool Echo report that many fans have been left frustrated at the lack of affordable flights and hotel rooms in the Ukranian capital, as local businesses look to cash in on Saturday’s showpiece.
Moore said:
To call it a challenging location would be an understatement and I’ve had discussions all the way to the top of UEFA about it. It’s a wonderful city but is it capable and fit for purpose when it comes to hosting a Champions League final? We think the answer is no. That’s through no fault of their own.
They just don’t have the airport infrastructure and the hotel capacity to cope with an event of this size and there isn’t another major city within real hitting distance of it. It’s not only affected Liverpool fans but Real Madrid fans too. There will be lessons learned from this. Rest assured, I’ve raised this at the highest levels of UEFA.
Both sides were allocated just 16,626 tickets for the match, despite the stadium boasting a capacity of 63,000.
That has meant tickets are at a premium, with reports of some being sold online for thousands of pounds and many fans being scammed with fake tickets.
Moore warned that anyone found guilty of ticket touting will be punished by the club:
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the secondary market. I know that a lot of fans who missed out in the ballot are upset that tickets are being sold on either by other fans or touts at vastly inflated prices.
Fans have sent me screen grabs of eBay and other secondary sites where tickets are being sold. We’re looking into who bought these tickets in the first place. I don’t want to go into detail at the moment about what the repercussions will be but we take it very seriously.
The excitement is building amongst the club’s supporters with the match now just days away, and fans will be hoping for the perfect end to an extraordinary run to the final.
Having beaten Hoffenheim in the playoffs, the Reds stormed the Group Stage before beating Manchester City and Roma in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
