Latest news with #SpursAbility
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Man United and Tottenham disabled fans fume at 'insulting' treatment for Europa League Final after being given just 26 wheelchair spaces each in 50,000 seater stadium - falling well below UEFA's own guidelines
Disabled Manchester United and Tottenham fans have hit out at the 'insulting' number of wheelchair and accessible tickets available for their Europa League final clash. A mere 26 wheelchair spaces and 15 'easy access' seats, which provide added room for those with mobility issues, are available out of either side's 15,000 allocation at Athletic Bilbao's 53,000 seater San Mames Stadium. Wednesday's final provides United and Spurs with an opportunity to give supporters some cheer after enormously disappointing domestic campaigns, but disabled fans have been left bemused as their allocations falls significant of even UEFA's own guidelines. UEFA recommends that a stadium of San Mames's capacity, which is being reduced to 49,600 for the final, should have 236 wheelchair spaces and 236 'amenity and easy access seats'. Even at its usual capacity, it only holds 208 wheelchair and 102 easy access seats, meaning it does not comply with UEFA guidelines. Each club should have been given 58 wheelchair spaces and 28 easy access seats with the final's capacity, according to disabled sports charity Level Playing Field. Mark Spencer, a member of Spurs Ability, the fan group representing disabled supporters, said the allocation was 'insulting'. 'To say I'm gutted is an understatement, he told BBC Sport. 'I wasn't able to go to Madrid for the Champions League [final] in 2019 and I thought this might be my chance - but Uefa have just not given us the percentage of seating that they should be giving us under their own rules and regulations. 'You feel that you're being prevented from watching football and supporting your team because of a disability so it's quite insulting and very disappointing. Manchester United Disabled Supporters' Association secretary, Rick Clement, said: 'To see that in 2025 we are still not receiving a fair allocation of accessible tickets, which fall short of UEFA's own guidelines, is extremely disappointing and reinforces the fact that disability is often an afterthought.' SpursAbility co-chair, Rita Egan, said they were 'extremely disappointed' at the allocation. 'The numbers for both fanbases are wholly insufficient,' she said. 'There should at least have been a proportionate distribution of the spaces available at the stadium, in line with the general allocation.' Tony Taylor, the Chair of Level Playing Field, accused UEFA of 'lacking accountability' and locking supports out of the final. 'Inadequate provisions are set to result in disproportionate exclusion, on a day when fanbases should be united for a celebration,' he said. 'Instead, we have seen another failure from UEFA at a showpiece event. Accountability has been lacking before and now we can see more disregard for disabled fans, which ignores the governing body's own guidance and underutilises the facilities available, without adequate justification. 'We know that there are additional barriers to European travel for many disabled fans. To then have further barriers put in place through ticketing and a lack of facilities, and be disproportionally locked out of occasions like this, is unacceptable. 'I feel for the disabled fans of both clubs who have supported their sides throughout this season and are set to miss out on what could be the highlight.' Level Playing Field also said it has been in discussion with Chelsea Disabled Supporters' Association about the lack of accessible seating in their Conference League final against Real Betis. In response to the criticism, UEFA said it was 'committed to ensuring a barrier-free experience for disabled fans and are working hard to improve both standards and experiences related to this.' 'The provision of quality sightlines is a decisive factor when determining whether a seat can be offered at a UEFA club final but we also factor historical demand as this is a way in which we manage to increase the numbers in accordance to demand. They added: 'For context: For the UEFA Women's Champions League Final 2024 in Bilbao, we allocated 60 seats and sold 59. For the UEFA Europa League Final 2024 in Dublin, we allocated 93 seats and sold 41.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Man Utd & Spurs disabled fans condemn final ticket allocation
Disabled fans of Manchester United and Tottenham have criticised the number of wheelchair tickets available for the Europa League final as "insulting" - with both clubs given 26 tickets each in a near 50,000-capacity Bilbao stadium. Manchester United Disabled Supporters' Association and Spurs Ability, the fan groups representing disabled supporters, have expressed anger at the size of the allocation, which includes an additional 15 'easy access' seats, from an allocation of 15,000 tickets per club. In response, competition organiser Uefa said it had provided 75 wheelchair positions - including neutral spaces - at the San Mames stadium, with free companion seat and guaranteed sightlines. Uefa said 15% of those tickets remained unsold and available for purchase as of Tuesday morning. Both fan groups disputed this claim to BBC Sport. The stadium, home to Spanish top-flight side Athletic Bilbao, has a capacity of more than 53,000 but this has been reduced to 49,600 for the final on Wednesday. The stadium is usually capable of hosting 208 wheelchair and 102 easy access seats. That falls slightly short of the recommended provision in Uefa's own guidelines for stadiums of its size. But the two supporters' groups and the disabled sports charity Level Playing Field have calculated that even within the San Mames' limitations, both clubs should still have 58 wheelchair spaces and a further 28 easy access tickets. Spurs Ability member Mark Spencer has spinal injuries but is not in a wheelchair. He has travelled to Bilbao by car without a ticket to watch the match in a fan park. He told BBC Sport: "To say I'm gutted is an understatement. I wasn't able to go to Madrid for the Champions League [final] in 2019 and I thought this might be my chance - but Uefa have just not given us the percentage of seating that they should be giving us under their own rules and regulations. "You feel that you're being prevented from watching football and supporting your team because of a disability so it's quite insulting and very disappointing." Manchester United Disabled Supporters' Association secretary Rick Clement said: "Uefa, ultimately, have a responsibility to football fans to support your team. That should include people with disabilities." Dr Rita Egan, another member of Spurs Ability, said the group has been "dismayed" by the allocation and accused Uefa of having "ignored" complaints by not replying to correspondence. Level Playing Field chair Tony Taylor said: "We have seen another failure from Uefa at a showpiece event. "Accountability has been lacking before and now we can see more disregard for disabled fans, which ignores the governing body's own guidance and under-utilises the facilities available, without adequate justification." In response, Uefa said it was "working hard to improve both standards and experiences" for disabled fans and that it took into account "the quality of sightlines", "historical demand" and the ratio between capacity and accessible seating. It stated that for the Women's Champions League final last year at the same stadium, 59 of the 60 allocated seats were sold, and for the men's Europa League final last season between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin, only 41 of the 93 allocated seats were sold. Uefa also told BBC Sport that it "investigated solutions" for more accessible seats and spoke to disability access officers at United and Spurs. European football's governing body added: "While both indicated they could sell more accessible tickets, they also expressed a preference for maintaining the current allocations rather than increasing numbers at the expense of seat quality." BBC Sport has approached both clubs for comment. Europa League build-up: Teams and fans arrive in Bilbao before Wednesday's final The £100m final Man Utd cannot afford to lose? Man Utd 'nowhere near good enough' but have Bilbao belief Postecoglou's second-season success - what and how has he won?
