Wednesday 28 August 2019 16:15, UK
Supporters of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham have written to UEFA calling for improvements to the fan experience for European finals.
The four Premier League clubs contested last season's showpiece events, with Chelsea thrashing Arsenal in the Europa League final and Liverpool beating Tottenham in the Champions League.
However, the finals did not take place without controversy, and the Arsenal Supporters' Trust, the Chelsea Supporters' Trust, the Spirit of Shankly and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust have now issued a joint statement.
The fan groups have called on UEFA to tackle issues such as inadequate ticket allocations and inconvenient travel arrangements.
The supporters want UEFA to ensure 80 per cent of tickets to finals are made available to fans of the competing clubs, after less than half were allocated to Liverpool and Spurs fans for last season's Champions League final in Madrid.
They have also asked European football's governing body to choose stadiums with a minimum capacity of 60,000 for Europa League finals and 75,000 for Champions League finals, to help keep tickets affordable.
The request for improved travel arrangements comes after Arsenal and Chelsea supporters struggled to get to Baku, in Azerbaijan, for last season's Europa League final.
In addition, the joint statement calls for host countries to have clean human rights records and equality policies, after Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not travel to Baku due to safety concerns arising from the conflict between his home nation of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The fan groups' joint statement read: "We have drawn up a six-point action plan to improve the supporter experience. It has been referred to the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) and Football Supporters Europe (FSE).
"We now call on UEFA to engage in meaningful dialogue with supporters and address these points."
