UEFA gives Paris ticket warning

UEFA has issued a warning to fans tempted to purchase tickets for next Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final from unauthorised sources on the internet.

Abusive ticket selling
European football's governing body, which constantly monitors the internet, said on Friday that it had discovered abusive ticket selling relating to the final between FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC at the Stade de France in Paris. It is therefore cancelling a certain number of tickets sold in breach of official ticketing provisions.

Quantity of tickets
"The quantity of tickets for this match being offered for sale on certain internet sites has now reached an extent that obliges UEFA to strictly enforce the ticketing terms and conditions, which are applicable to all ticket-holders and prohibit the resale or transfer to any third party," UEFA said.

Potential security threat
"UEFA will not allow the abusive and uncontrolled selling of tickets over the internet to become a potential threat to security in the stadium," it added. "Consequently UEFA will cancel a certain number of tickets sold in breach of the ticketing terms and conditions, as a clear warning sign to those involved.

Protecting fans
"European football's governing body's primary concern is to protect the genuine fan against possible troublemakers entering the stadium due to uncontrolled selling. Unauthorised sellers will therefore bear the entire responsibility in this respect and the cancelled tickets will not be reimbursed or replaced in any way. Fans who are considering purchasing such tickets should be well aware of this policy.

Fake auctions
"Based on past experience, UEFA also suspects numerous fake auctions to be placed on the internet and reiterates its warning to fans tempted to buy tickets through unreliable sources that often charge exorbitant prices and quite often do not have the tickets they purport to be selling." The match at the Stade de France is a 77,500 sell-out.