Aston Villa fans furious over Champions League ticket cost hike amid dynamic pricing warning

Aston Villa have come under huge criticism since publishing their ticket pricing structure for the club’s first top-level European campaign in more than forty years. The Villans were knocked out of the European Cup in the 1982/83 season (ten years before it was rebranded as the Champions League) and they have not reached the biggest competition in Europe since.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting their team’s historic campaign, but ticket prices released yesterday have sparked uproar.

Adults without season tickets will have to pay £85-97 to attend games, while those with season tickets will have discounted rates of £70-82. There are some lower priced concession tickets with the cheapest possible adult ticket - for those over 66 or under 21 - coming in at £65 for a season ticket holder.

Those numbers contrast with the Aston Villa Supporters’ Trust’s request that prices should not be higher than a Category A Premier League ticket. A ticket in the cheapest price bracket for a non-concession adult without a season ticket is £55 for a Category A league game - for the Champions League, the same ticket would cost £85.

The supporters’ trust said: “When compared to other English clubs in the Champions League this year and indeed UEFA’s own away ticket price cap, today’s announcement is out of touch.

“Loyal Villa fans who’ve waited as long as 40 years to celebrate this momentous season are being punished and exploited at the expense of the Club’s compliance to PSR, ESR and publicly known revenue generation targets.

“The Trust fears the Club will alienate fans with these prices and urges the Club to rethink ahead of the first home match against Bayern Munich in October.”

The UEFA cap referred to, which was announced this week, means away fans can only be charged £50.55 (€60) for their Champions League tickets - so home fans at Villa Park could find themselves paying more than those supporting their opponents when they host Bayern Munich, Juventus, Celtic, and Bologna.

Meanwhile, the Football Supporters’ Association has spoken out on the danger of ‘dynamic pricing’ being introduced to football games. The initiative made headlines last week during ticket sales for the Oasis reunion tour, when fans were shocked to see some prices more than double throughout the course of the sale due to high demand. La Liga outfit Valencia have announced they will begin using the system for home games, meaning tickets will start at a base price but could increase over time. Football Supporters Europe called dynamic pricing “blatant greed”.

No English clubs have introduced the system, and the Football Supporters’ Association have been quick to make their views clear on the topic. A statement on their website reads: “With impeccable timing after the Oasis fiasco voices in football have started to float the idea of infecting football with dynamic pricing.

“Never underestimate the potential for the most greedy owners in football to try and import terrible ideas from other industries to exploit supporter loyalty.”