Man City defend ticket prices for Champions League tie with PSG
Monday 21 March 2016 17:06, UK
Manchester City have defended charging as much as £60 for tickets for their upcoming Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Supporters have expressed their disapproval at the cost of attending the second-leg clash at the Etihad Stadium on April 12, with prices ranging from £45-£60 for full-paying adults.
The figures see a rise from the ticket prices for the previous round against Dynamo Kiev, which cost £30-£40. In the group stages against Borussia Monchengladbach, Sevilla and Juventus, tickets ranged from £20-£40.
Some fans questioned why the prices for the PSG game do not match those from their round of 16 tie with Barcelona last season, and City have released a statement claiming a number of factors are taken into consideration when prices are set.
It read: "Pricing for each match is reviewed on an individual basis, based on factors such as the opposition and stage of competition.
"As this match is the quarter-final of Europe's biggest cup competition and the first time the club has progressed to this stage, we believe the ticket prices are a fair reflection of the profile of the game."
Members of the 'Seasoncard' and 'Cityzens' schemes are entitled to a £5 discount, meaning that some juniors can purchase tickets for as little as £10. Regular prices for under-16s range from £15-£30, with some seats £10-£20 less than their equivalent for Barcelona last year.
Some adults will also pay no more, or up to £10 less, than for like-for-like tickets for the Barcelona games in 2014 and 2015. But for some fans these measures are not enough in a current climate that has seen some supporters' groups make headway in protests against ticket prices.
A well-publicised walk-out by Liverpool fans recently forced their club into a climbdown over a planned increase while earlier this month all Premier League clubs agreed to cap away ticket prices at £30 from next season.
Kevin Parker, general secretary of the Manchester City Supporters Club, said: "You would expect this game to come with a premium, but I think the premium they have added is just a jump too much.
"The mood of clubs has started to soften on ticket prices. With everything that has been happening, the levels the club have set them at for this game have come as a surprise.
"The club also have this very loyal fanbase that has followed them to all home and away games, including the Capital One Cup final. They don't seem to have added a reward factor into those ticket prices and reduced them.
"Fans can't keep on paying those sorts of prices. If we want to fill the stadium for the game against PSG, these are not the kind of prices to do that."
