Shakhtar lowers ticket prices in response to threatened boycott

A threatened boycott over ticket prices for a forthcoming December Champions' League fixture has compelled Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk to half the ticket prices offered to FC Bayern München Ultras. FCB fans planning on attending a December 10th "away fixture" at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen standing block can now purchase a pass for €26.

Those hoping to purchase a seat in the visitors can now obtain one for as little as €45. General prices for fans have nevertheless not been lowered by much. The price of a ticketing the neutral area has only been lowered to €90 from €105. The Bayern ultra group leading the protest, Südkurve München, has announced an end to the boycott while also issuing a statement critical of pricing policy.

“The people in charge at the clubs need to question their, policy," the group wrote in its Friday-released-statement, "The price cap introduced by UEFA for the cheapest category of currently €60 and prospectively €50 is a good first step, but it cannot be the end of the story. A football match is not an opera performance! Ticket prices must be set at a socially acceptable level so that all fans can go to the stadiums.”