So Arsenal and Chelsea are only getting 6,000 tickets each?! That's ****ing disgraceful. Funny though, because it's them.
It's in Baku, too. Ridiculous venue for two English teams. How many neutrals are going to attend that? 0 Armenians, for a start.
Allocating most of the tickets to competing clubs is a very recent thing. Before 1930 the FA Cup final allocation was 1,500 to each club. For 1930 it went to 7,000 each. Even today only 60% of the tickets for the FA Cup Final go to the competing clubs. So I can see why UEFA find it hard to allocate more than 50%. Personally I think about half to the finalists and half to everyone else is about right because a lot more than half the football fans in the country/continent will never get the chance to see their own team in the final. The Baku allocation is ridiculous though.
Interesting to see if Mikhtaryan plays.... But again, why should countries on the edge of Europe (as defined by UEFA) be effectively banned from being hosts. Azerbaijan is never likely to be a sensible venue based on geographical location whoever is competing, If they were going to do that it would make sense to choose the venue once the semi-finalists were known which this year would probably have meant Paris for the CL and Amsterdam for the EL. It's probably too late to decide the venue after the semi-finals.
There should be a number of suitable venues lined up at the start and one should be selected when the finalists are known. Countries that have an effective ban on another European country's citizens shouldn't be eligible. Baku's further East than Baghdad. It's not reasonable to expect people to trek over there for a final. Vladivostok and Khabarovsk shouldn't host them either, despite presumably being eligible to apply to do so.
The venue was chosen in homage to the Goon EL group stage away game excursions for the past two seasons (and hopefully for a long time hereafter) .
If VaR is used to review a penalty decision and the referee overturns his decision based on seeing that the player dived, is he entitled to show a yellow card? The VaR protocol doesn't seem to cover this.
Would you make the same call on countries at the other edge of Europe and ban Lisbon and Dublin from being hosts? Vladivostok is a red herring because it is definitely not in Europe, but Baku probably is.
Tbh...that is a great point. My main gripe (yeah...i know it ain't like me to have a moan) is how the airlines are allowed to profiteer by putting flight prices up by up to 500% ... disgraceful scummy practice.
Israel isn't in Europe. It's a UEFA country though, as is Russia. Vladivostok and Khabarovsk have both had top-flight clubs in recent seasons. They could potentially qualify for Europe. Lisbon and Dublin are comfortable journeys for a lot of European clubs. Baku isn't. That's why I suggested multiple possible venues before picking a suitable one once the final is known.
It's all about supply and demand innit...common tactics used by many. Explains why holidays are more expensive during school holidays.
I just had a look at the Asian Club championship. It is now a two-legged affair but historically, two South Korean clubs played the final in Tehran!
On the Hawsbee and Jacobs Show yesterday, someone said that is their version of MacNamara's Band and they play it at every game. If true, it puts a different perspective on it. I like Ajax, despite them starting trouble in Tottenham. I would much rather be playing them in the final than the Mousers, who will cheat and then bleat endlessly about some perceived wrong after we do 'em in Madrid.
