German fans miss first five minutes of Arsenal vs Bayern Munich clash in protest
In last night’s Champions League match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich at the Emirates, the away fans’ group boycotted the first five minutes of the game in protest to the hefty ticket prices imposed on them at the Emirates Stadium, as per reports on BBC Sport. The ticket price for this exciting clash was reported to be a minimum of £64.
It turned out to be an underwhelming night for the travelling fans as they saw their team suffer a 2-0 defeat at the hands of a resilient Gunners side. It was a huge victory for Arsene Wenger and his men as they registered their first win in the Champions League this term.
However, the Arsenal’s victory wasn’t the only thing that stole the headlines last night. A majority of the German fans walked into the stadium five minutes after the start of the match to protest what they claimed were excessive ticket prices. Bayern Munich fans’ group organised the protest in collaboration with several other supporters’ group since they were charged a minimum of £64 to attend the match in London.
The travelling fans put up banners that read: ‘‘£64 a ticket. But without fans football is not worth a penny.’’ Meanwhile, the home fans supported the cause of their away counterparts as they applauded them when they took their seats in the stadium.
Earlier this week a statement was released on the Facebook page by the supporters group regarding the ticket pricing conundrum.
"Such pricing makes young and socially disadvantaged fans to visit stadiums impossible, destroyed the fan culture medium and thus the basis of football.”
"In England, this development has already occurred.”
"The first 5 minutes of the game in London will be the way the football will look like in the future if this madness continues.”
"We want to show in the subsequent 85 minutes, what is the alternative and the importance of a vibrant fan culture in football."
Increasing ticket pricing has been a matter of concern for fans in England
Hefty ticket pricing has been a hot topic of debate in England off late and this issue is being voiced out by the football fans, especially for away games. According to some reports, in some cases it costs an English fan about the same to travel to a match in Germany than it does to go to a game much closer to home.
Arsenal has explained that part of the discrepancy between Germany and England has something to do with the way the two countries raise revenue for their respective leagues.
“We would like to stress that German football receives significant government funding, which is not the case in England,” a spokesman told in an interview.