Ally McCoist, the former Rangers and Scotland striker, has criticized UEFA for their ticket distribution for the Europa Conference League final between West Ham United and Fiorentina in Prague, writes the football.london.
The final, scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, marks West Ham’s first major European final in 47 years and Fiorentina’s first in 33 years. Despite the significance of the occasion for both clubs, only 20,000 spectators will be allowed in the Fortuna Arena. West Ham and Fiorentina have been granted just under 5,000 tickets each for their respective supporters, while the remaining seats are designated for corporate use.
The choice of the stadium for the final has faced extensive backlash, as has the limited ticket allocation for each club, and Ally McCoist, the renowned figure from Rangers, is among those who have strongly criticized this decision. McCoist, who has experience both as a player and manager for the Scottish team, expressed his opinion that in order for UEFA to truly enhance the competition’s reputation and maximize its exposure, they should have provided a larger number of tickets to both sets of supporters and selected a more prestigious venue to host the match.
“It’s shocking, it really is,” McCoist told talkSPORT. “You talk about clubs and I’m speaking to clubs and I know Rangers knocked Fiorentina out of the cup several years ago in Florence, but clubs like West Ham, whose supporters have been starved of success, deserve [more].
“Not everybody can get tickets, I get that, but we’re talking about a European final. Okay, it’s not the Europa League and it’s not the Champions League, but it’s a European Conference League final and for both clubs to get less than 5,000 tickets.
“The whole object of this tournament was to give clubs like West Ham a chance, so don’t play it at a small stadium or a stadium where they can only get 4,900, play in a massive stadium and go and give them an opportunity to enjoy it, that’s the object of the whole exercise.
“The final is in Prague, I don’t know the capacity of the stadium in Prague even, but it certainly looks as though it’s not big enough.”