Toulouse debrief
We were frustrated to see the allocation for this game in France was way below the minimum levels set by UEFA*, leaving lots of supporters ticketless. Toulouse’s official stadium capacity for UEFA competitions is 31,156 – 5% of this is 1,557 tickets. Our allocation was 1,200 tickets, 3.6%.
We contacted both LFC and FSE to see how this had been allowed. LFC assured us they had pressed for a larger allocation, however as we saw and experienced, the away sector of the ground is fenced in, meaning Toulouse are able to push back on any requests for additional tickets due to segregation issues.
FSE told us that UEFA was aware of this issue and stipulated it until the knockout rounds to rectify this. This is of course too little, too late for LFC supporters who all too often are impacted when clubs don’t meet minimum requirements. We will continue to work on this and press LFC, UEFA and host clubs on behalf of all fans.
We are aware a large number of our supporters had issues at the game in Toulouse. We have since attended a debrief with LFC and had the opportunity to discuss these issues further. The main issue was that many supporters were not able to access their seats and missed the first half of the match.
LFC advised that as there was only one entry point for away fans, so any congestion meant they were not able to get to their seats. A lack of home stewards and poor sightlines from our section exacerbated this issue. We voiced our concerns around safety in relation to this.
We have made various suggestions to LFC for improvement at European away games and hope to see these implemented in the future. Representatives from SOS regularly attend pre-match meetings with the club and, where possible, local police and host clubs, where we can highlight any possible problems and raise questions ahead of the fixture.
A meeting was set up with French police ahead of our match in Toulouse. It was a positive and we thank LFC for facilitating it, especially as this was our first game in France after the final in Paris. We hope to be able to do this again for fixtures in the future.
Reciprocal pricing arrangements
Supporters who have been fortunate enough to attend any of our European away fixtures this season will have noted that the price for every game has been set at £17.22 (€20). This is a welcome price point and credit should go to LFC, who worked with the Union SG, Toulouse and LASK to set up a reciprocal pricing arrangement. We’re quick to show displeasure when prices are deemed too high, so it’s only right that we recognise this. #Twenty’sPlenty
*UEFA’s regulation, Article 38 Ticketing, states:
“Home clubs must make at least 5% of the total approved UEFA capacity of their stadium available exclusively to visiting supporters, in a segregated, safe area.”
