Bayern supporters' group call for five minute walkout at Emirates Stadium
Bayern Munich supporters are planning a protest during the Champions League game at Arsenal next Wednesday over excessive ticket prices around Europe, Sky Sports reported. The fans have threatened to boycott the first five minutes of the game at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners will be hosting the Bundesliga champions on October 20 but a supporters’ group, FC Bayern Worldwide, have declared a walkout in protest of the excessive £64 ticket price. They claim that the cheapest ticket available is £64, which will rise to £74 along with fees and postage for the travelling fans.
Contrastingly, the season tickets at the Allianz Arena are available for £104. The angry fans took this to Facebook and had published a statement.
“We will not enter the away sector for the first five minutes of the game Arsenal FC against FC Bayern München on the 20th of October 2015,” statement on the FC Bayern Worldwide’ s Facebook page read.
“We will be taking this action to draw attention to the excessive ticket prices for this fixture. The cheapest ticket for this group phase match is priced at £64, which with fees and postage included will cost Bayern fans almost €100.”
“This kind of a price structure makes a stadium visit impossible for younger and socially disadvantaged fans. It destroys fan culture, which is the basis of football. In England, this development has already taken place.”
‘Twenty’s Plenty’ campaign in England
This is not the first time the supporters have expressed their disappointment on the ticket pricing at the Emirates. In the past, several fans took part in the ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ protest in a bid to persuade clubs to take the step of reducing ticket prices at £20.
The ongoing campaign has been not been left unnoticed. The Bayern supporters’ group have given them their full support on the campaign.
“We want to protest at the price structure and at the same time changes in the stadia.” the statement read.
“We want to remind clubs and associations of their social responsibility and warn them of the effects, which we will all feel, both as fans and club officials. We express our support for campaigns like ‘20’s Plenty’ from England and ‘Kein Zwanni’ in Germany. Especially the developments in English football should be a sobering example.”
“The first five minutes of the game in London will be, what future football will look like if this madness continues. Empty seats in the stands and no singing or emotion in the stands.”
“In the following 85 minutes we want to show the alternative and show how fundamentally important a lively fan-culture is for football.”