Football fans hoping to attend the upcoming European Championship have reacted with anger and confusion after learning Uefa has cancelled their tickets in a ballot as stadiums reduce capacity because of the pandemic.
Uefa has begun sending emails to fans informing them that their tickets have been cancelled “as per the ballot process for matches where the number of sold tickets exceeded the new permitted seating capacities”.
Fans, many of whom have held the tickets since 2019, have taken to social media to note that Uefa is cancelling their tickets while continuing to sell expensive hospitality packages.
No #EURO2020 semi final tickets for me in the ballot, cheers @EURO2020 @UEFAcom I’m sure all your ‘corporate’ tickets were allocated to those worthy (and rich) enough 🙄 pic.twitter.com/FDcaKc7oVs
— George Hull (@Georgey_Hull) May 19, 2021
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Host stadiums have been forced to reduce capacity because of the Covid-19 pandemic, with attendances set to vary between 25% and 50%.
Budapest is due to have full capacity, while Wembley will be reduced to 25%, before an expected increase to 50% should national Covid-19 restrictions be eased as planned on June 21st.
@UEFA @FIFAcom Just lost in the ballet for ENGvSCO and a semi final for @euro2020 even though final attendances haven’t been decided for the latter stages. Will this be reviewed again later ? You’ve held peoples cash for two years and all of a sudden cancel tickets! #euro2020
— Scott Sheppard (@ScottySheppard) May 18, 2021
An email from Uefa reads: “Dear football fan, We are sorry to inform you that your ticket(s) for Uefa Euro 2020 have been cancelled as per the ballot process for matches where the number of sold tickets exceeded the new permitted seating capacities.
“For tickets, purchased through the participating national associations sales programme, the rules of the respective fan clubs were applied.
“Please check the attached credit note which outlines the details of your refund.”
Others have gone on Twitter to complain that they too have had their tickets for later games cancelled despite crowd sizes not yet having been determined.
