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UEFA has announced it will punish RSC Anderlecht for infringing article 19 (3) of UEFA’s safety and security regulations. The specific crime? Gouging Bayern Munich away fans to the tune of €100 a ticket when the Bavarians visited Anderlecht during the Champions League group stage on November 22, 2017.
Angry Bayern fans protested the ticket prices with loud banners and fake €100 bills, which they hurled onto the pitch from their fan block.
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Bayern Munich gave fans a subvention of €30 each to compensate for the exorbitant ticket prices and was fined another €20,000 for the banners and fake money incident.
Now it appears that some justice will befall Anderlecht in turn. UEFA will decide Anderlecht's fate on February 2. According to the UEFA rules, “the price of tickets for supporters of the visiting team must not exceed the price paid for tickets of a comparable category that are sold to supporters of the home team.”
There is hope around Europe that UEFA might also intervene to close various loopholes and ticketing tricks used by other clubs to gouge visiting away fans in the Champions League. Liverpool, for example, have complained to UEFA about the conduct of Porto, which charged Liverpool fans three times (€75) the price paid by home fans (€25). The Portugese club's excuse is that the €25 tickets are for members, while “general admission” costs €75. The catch, of course, is that nearly all home tickets are sold to members at the lower price.
If UEFA sanction Anderlecht, Bayern’s fan group Club Nr. 12 will undoubtedly have cause to celebrate - though that might not stop them from throwing more fake euros at Neymar should our paths cross again.