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NOTAfter catching their breath, many supporters of Liverpool and Tottenham said their enthusiasm for qualifying for the Champions League final was tempered by the prices they face to travel to Madrid.
The cost of seats on flights to the city climbed to more than £ 1,300 during the weekend of June 1st, more than 12 times the usual fare. At the same time, Airbnb bookings have been canceled by hosts demanding triple the price originally offered. And the nominal price even for some restricted view match tickets over £ 400.
Joe Blott, president of Liverpool's Spirit of Shankly supporter group, said: "The absolute joy of reaching the final, especially the one we had, is marred by the astronomical cost of getting to Madrid. "
Fans have been forced to plan increasingly diverted routes to Madrid, but they are still struggling to avoid being ripped off.
Chris Anderson, a fan of Liverpool, is about to abandon his efforts to get an affordable price. "I've tried every possible flight. I even considered taking a ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao. And I had an Airbnb booking, but they canceled Wednesday morning and said the price had gone up to £ 1,000 a night. "
Anderson was waiting for a travel agency for only 45 minutes to be told that the price of the trip to Madrid via Malaga that he had provisionally booked had increased from £ 266 to £ 1,200.
He said: "If I wanted to go there the week after, I could probably go to Madrid and come back for £ 100. The whole thing is really sad. This is not a way to treat football fans. "
The Football Fans Federation fears that travel agencies will exploit the presence of two English clubs in the final.
Its director, Kevin Miles, said: "Every time an English club qualifies for a European final, the demand for transportation, accommodation and tickets is still huge. Add to that another well-supported English club and the situation becomes even more difficult. It is outrageous, but unfortunately it is the same for the course. "
He added that rising prices for flights and accommodations put the loyalty of fans at the limit. "The fans will do everything in their power to follow their team, while feeling that every penny is drawn from that loyalty."
The federation is urging Liverpool and Tottenham to create more charter flights to help fans get to the game.
"The clubs benefit from this massive support throughout the year and they have everything to gain from the finals. They should look to see what they can do to facilitate what they can do to get fans to games.
"If that's not the case, fans end up borrowing, credit card bills and expenses they really can not afford."
Samantha Ramm, a supporter of Tottenham at Bognor Regis, desperately needs to go to the game but says she really has a prize.
"I'm a big fan of the Spurs and would really like to go, but it would be a minimum of £ 2,000 and as there are only three weeks left, there is no way to save . "
"The way prices have been set makes the task almost impossible. Everyone is trying to make money, especially with Liverpool. "
The Spirit of Shankly urges UEFA and football clubs to do more to help fans reach the goal. Blott said: "UEFA should put a price ceiling on tickets outside. There are many sponsors to get money. Ideally, we would be priced around £ 30.
"And the clubs are making a lot of money thanks to the European competition. They must recognize the sacrifice of the fans and do something to help them.
"Without real fans, there is no atmosphere, and the atmosphere we saw Tuesday night will not happen if everyone has its price."
16,613 tickets were awarded to Liverpool and Tottenham. Liverpool said the cheapest tickets cost £ 60, but accounted for only one-fifth of their allocation. In addition, 54% of the tickets cost £ 154, 21% to £ 385 and 5% to £ 513.
Liverpool area mayor Steve Rotheram accused easyJet of profit. He tweeted: "Raising prices by 683% for return flights to Madrid simply benefits from the passion of football fans. This is not new but totally shameful. "
EasyJet denied deliberately raising prices. A spokeswoman said: "Our prices are demand-driven, which means that the more seats on a flight, the higher the price."
Blott said the rules of the normal economy do not work for football fans. "I will not support another club just because it could be a cheaper offer. You can not go another day. You must go there on June 1st. There is no choice. It's a monopoly. "
Matt Loughney, owner of the James Joyce Irish Pub located in central Madrid, is looking forward to a busy few days.
"The prices of flights are banana and there will be charter flights. It should be a very good few days of celebration. Tickets will go for ridiculous prices. "
But he did not hesitate to try to earn money by raising his own prices.
"God no, Jesus no, people can be completely upset," he said.
"The hotels here can enjoy it and I can just imagine what Airbnb will charge. But we have always kept the prices as they are on the eve of the New Year, because there are many regular customers, so a short-term gain but a long-term destruction. It would be pissing.
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