Thus far unpublished rant on Uefa Champions League prices

                                                Martin Boonham

                        Champions League Prices an absolute joke

Wembley is the venue for the final

Once upon a time football used to be a game for the masses but the latest announcement in regards to the UEFA Champions League final prices is yet another kick in the teeth for the real football fan.

Apparently the price is benchmarked against other leading events and in no way over priced.

What a joke.

If Chelsea or Tottenham get to the final things aren’t so bad, as long as fans are based in London, but what about fans of say Manchester United, all joking aside about them all coming from London anyway.

A trip to London on top of the £80 for a ticket and probable hotel bill is likely to cost as much as a cheap package holiday abroad.

Blatter and Platini will no doubt be rubbing their hands together thinking of all that money

 

UEFA don’t care as they know these tickets will sell no matter what the price is.

Of course I’m jumping the gun a little assuming an English team will make the final but what about fans from Spain, Italy, or Germany? To them this will have to BE their holiday.

At least the neutrals can enjoy the game right? Not unless you’ve got £150 spare change lying around (don’t forget the admin charge of £26) and that’s only for the cheap seats too.

I sat in this category three for the charity shield game at the beginning of the season and while the view was good it was nothing spectacular.

If you want spectacular that will cost you anything up to £300 a seat.

Bear in mind that UEFA have said:  "We do not want to squeeze every single penny out of the market.”

Jeez I hate so see the prices when they do feel like ripping us off then.

In these times of hardship, unemployment and general scraping by to make ends meet to pay these kinds of prices for a football match is simply beyond a joke.

Sir Alex Ferguson summed the outrageous prices up perfectly when he said: "It's unbelievable and disappointing.

"It's a killer and a corporate deal, that Managers and players can't do anything about it.”

Well actually Sir Alex the players could fork out a couple of quid from there ever expanding wallets to help out a few fans, but that’d be almost charitable wouldn’t it?

Although we can’t be too critical on them as, for a change, the issue is not overpaid players, the focus most go entirely on UEFA and their ridiculous decision to charge the earth for tickets.

I suspect the prawn sandwich eaters that Roy Keane was always so fond of will be out in force that day.

Meanwhile the normal every day fans like you and I will have booked our seats for the final in one of two locations, the sofa in front of our telly, or the pub down the road.

Perhaps then a beer and a pie might only set you back a few quid there as opposed to the cost of a round like it would at Wembley.