Fans descend on Athens ahead of final
Thousands of Liverpool fans poured into Athens today as the hours ticked away before tonight’s Champions League final against AC Milan.
Two supporters went to hospital after they were involved in a fight with each other early this morning, but police said it was a minor incident and they were not badly hurt.
A British man was in custody for allegedly selling forged tickets worth €58,000 to an Italian travel agent.
Fans said they were being asked €1,500 for tickets by locals, down from €2,500 yesterday.
Geoff Gillespie, 43, from Grimsby, who is holidaying in Zante, said: “I’m not going to pay that sort of money. At the moment I rate my chances of getting in as 5% or less. I’ll go up to the ground and see if I can get any there, if not I’ll come back and watch it in a bar.”
Supporters filled the central Syntagma Square, where a fan zone has been set up, draping their banners everywhere; most detailing Liverpool’s history in the competition but at least one highlighting the plight of missing toddler Madeleine McCann with the message “Give her back”.
However, the traditional Liverpool humour was displayed in many of the banners.
One said: “No ticket – who cares”, and another: “European Cup finals – you wait ages for one ...” A reference to Liverpool being in two in three years.
At 1.15pm local time, the fans in the Square were drenched by a torrential downpour which swept across Athens.
