This comes after Manchester United and Barcelona decided to charge each other £102 per ticket
Uefa are reportedly close to introducing a price cap on away tickets in Champions League and Europa League fixtures after a series of fan protests heaped pressure on European football’s governing body to tackle the issue.
In recent years, clubs have been extorting huge amounts of money from away fans in European knockout games, which has angered many fans who keenly follow their team around the continent.
Last season, Liverpool fans had to pay £73 for a ticket to the away leg in the semi-final of the Champions League against Roma at the Stadio Olympico.
Manchester United fans were also made to pay £89 per ticket in seats which usually cost £54 for their trip to Sevilla in last season’s round of 16 tie.
This season, the problem has gotten worse. Barcelona set their away ticket prices at £102 for their home tie against Manchester United, prompting United to do the same, using the extra cash to subsidise tickets for their travelling fans, bringing the price down to £75.
Liverpool and Bayern Munich fans have approached the European Club Association regarding the issue, and they agreed to form a working group with Uefa with the aim of introducing a price cap.
The organisation’s general secretary Michele Centenaro told to reporters at the ECA general assembly in Amsterdam on Tuesday that the matter would be discussed by the clubs on Monday and “a proposal” would go to the next Uefa club competitions committee on May 14.
Liverpool and FC Porto have come to an agreement to reduce away ticket prices to £52 as opposed to a planned £73 for their quarter-final tie, and Uefa are expected to introduce a formal ticket price cap following next week’s committee meeting.
ECA vice-chairman Edwin van der Sar, the former Manchester United goalkeeper, who is now chief executive of Ajax, said: “Speaking as a former player, we want vocal fans at games and most of the time that’s the support that travels to domestic away games, too. We have fans who watch on TV all around the world but I think it’s important that we keep football affordable for local fans so they can travel at home and abroad.”
Former Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis, now at AC Milan, said: “The English experience with a cap on away tickets has been really positive.”
“It was a very good step and was well received and embraced by our fans. That was a national issue but we’ve got to have it on our [European] agenda, too.”
