Manchester United will subsidise the trip to Sevilla by charging the Spanish club’s fans more at Old Trafford. Manchester United will charge Sevilla fans £89 to attend the Champions League last-16 tie at Old Trafford on 13 March in response to the Spanish club’s “unfair and excessive” ticket pricing. United say they will use the proceeds to subsidise fans attending the first leg in Spain on 21 February.
The La Liga side are asking for £35 more than they took from Liverpool fans in the group stages in November. Sevilla are not breaching Uefa rules and are charging their own fans more. United said they had taken the decision as “a deterrent to future opponents who look to increase ticket prices for our travelling supporters”. United fans will be refunded £35 before their trip to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, with any additional money donated to the Manchester United Foundation.
In response to complaints from ticket holders, United outlined their stance in a letter, which was issued on Wednesday. It read: “In this instance we believe that our travelling supporters are unfairly being subjected to increased/excessive ticket prices from the host club. “Ultimately Sevilla have not agreed to significantly lower the price to what we view as a reasonable level. “Therefore, we have taken the difficult decision to charge Sevilla fans the same amount as our fans have been charged for the away fixture.”
In response, Sevilla said they will subsidise their fans for the price increase and will “be in contact with Uefa” over the matter. “Sevilla will also look to guarantee that no Sevillista pays a penny more than any Manchester United fan for similar tickets – as competition regulations dictate,” the Spanish club said.
The Red Devils will use the extra money from the ticket price increase to help lower costs for their fans travelling for the first leg in Spain. Sevilla’s decision to charge United fans £89 for the match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan sparked outrage among the Red Devils faithful and led to talks between the clubs to try to reach a compromise.
United say the Spanish club have refused to lower the cost, prompting them to take action by charging the same amount for Sevilla fans travelling to Old Trafford for the second leg of the last-16 tie in March.
