UEFA demands RSC Anderlecht to repay Bayern Munich fans for overpriced CL tickets

UEFA have retrospectively come out and demanded that Anderlecht partially reimburse Bayern Munich fans for overpriced away tickets from the Champions League match that took place back in November.

For that particular match, travelling Bayern fans were charged upwards of €100 for a ticket in the away [standing] section of the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. The Bayern fans were quite flamboyant with their display of disgust during the match, holding up elicit banners and throwing fake €100 bills onto the pitch prior to a corner kick being taken. Ironically, Bayern were charged €20,000 by UEFA for their powerful, yet disruptive demonstrations.

Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images

To be precise, the over-inflated ticket prices are in violation of article 19 (3) of UEFA’s safety and security regulations. Thankfully, UEFA can now guarantee that Anderlecht will be forced to repay at least of €30 for each ticket purchased by Bayern fans for the designated away section. UEFA’s control, ethics, and disciplinary body released a statement (via beInSports) on their decision to hold Anderlecht accountable:

RSC Anderlecht is ordered to contact FC Bayern Munich within 15 days to compensate their supporters with an amount of €30 per ticket to those away fans located in the upper tier section (sections S14, S15, S16 and S17).

Bayern Munich supporters are certainly no strangers to organizing meaningful protests, and there were even a large contingent of supporters that had boycotted the trip to Brussels for the Anderlecht match. Club #12, one of Bayern’s largest independent supporter’s groups, released a statement on their web site on the same day of the match:

Many Bayern fans, several ultra groups among them, opted to not make the trip to Brussels. This can’t be a long-term solution. Protests are sadly the only option to inform the bosses in their ivory tower at UEFA that salaries for UEFA officials are not representative of the earning capacities of the average football fan.

Jupp Heynckes had also voiced his opinion on the protests, showing solidarity with the Bayern fans (via Kicker):

When the tickets for standing room cost 100 euros — well, my dear friends, that is crazy! The fans are completely right. They can’t afford that anymore. That sends a message: Stay home! You’re not welcome here anymore. The protest was justified. I sympathize with the fans. Ticket prices have to stay reasonable. We need the fans. Without the right atmosphere — it’s a shame. I support the protest wholeheartedly.