Chelsea and Arsenal will receive just 7,000 tickets each if they make Europa League final… in 68,700-seater stadium
This year's final is being staged at Baku's Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan but 37,500 tickets have been put on sale to the general public
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ARSENAL and Chelsea will receive just 7,000 tickets each should they reach the Europa League final - despite the stadium holding 68,700.
According to the , Uefa seem unwilling to budge on the allocations for the match being staged at Baku's Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan on May 29.
It is understood Uefa put 37,500 tickets for the final on general sale.
That equates to 58 per cent of the stadium's available seats, which is a record high for the public to snap up, while thousands of others are set to go to commercial partners.
However, Uefa have struggled to ship those tickets and even re-opened applications after the initial March 21 deadline.
Individuals can buy up to four tickets per transaction - up from the usual two - with the cheapest ticket just £25.
But with high travel costs to factor in - Baku is almost 2,500 miles from London and a return flight costs approximately £500 - and the average salary in Azerbaijan £190 per month, Uefa have found many people who have reserved tickets have not paid for them.
Football Supporters Europe representative Ronan Evian told the Mail: "We can now confirm our initial assessment that it is really difficult for Azerbaijani fans to purchase tickets for the final, due to the high prices in comparison with the purchasing power of the locals.
We expect to Uefa to reconsider its ticket allocation and transfer some of the tickets that were reserved for public sales to the finalists.
Ronan Evian, Football Supporters Europe
"Now that we have three out of four teams qualified for the finals who are likely to bring high numbers of fans to Baku, we expect Uefa to reconsider its ticket allocation and transfer some of the tickets that were reserved for public sales to the finalists."
Arsenal have 44,000 season-ticket holders while Chelsea have around 24,000 - together they could just about fill the entire Baku stadium.
But instead, the majority look set to miss out on the chance to potentially see their side lift their only silverware of the season.
The Gunners take on Unai Emery's former side Valencia in the semi-finals while Chelsea must get past Eintracht Frankfurt to secure their place in the final.
A Uefa spokesperson said: "The number of tickets reserved for supporters of the two finalists will be confirmed in due course.
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"The remaining tickets will be allocated to the local organising committee, national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.
"Regarding ticketing for the general public, due to a high demand for tickets, the allocation process was completed by a lottery and took place once the application window phase closed. Successful applicants were invited to proceed with payment for their tickets.
"In order to secure the tickets, applicants were required to make payment within a specified time frame. As some tickets were left unpaid, they were offered for sale to other applicants whose application was initially unsuccessful."
