Former Rangers and Scotland striker Ally McCoist has hit out at UEFA following their ticket allocation for West Ham United’s Europa Conference League final with Fiorentina in Prague.
The Hammers head to the Fortuna Arena in Prague on Wednesday, June 7, in what is West Ham’s first major final in Europa in 47 years, while for Fiorentina, it will be their first in 33 years.
Despite what is set to be a massive night for both clubs, the game will be played in front of a crowd of just 20,000 supporters, with West Ham and Fiorentina allocated just under 5,000 tickets each for their supporters, with the rest set to be allocated as corporate seating.
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The stadium selected for the final has come under much criticism, as has the number of tickets given to each club, with the Rangers legend among those to slam the decision.
McCoist, who both managed and played for the Scottish side, said that if UEFA are keen on giving the competition credibility and real exposure, they should have given both sets of supporters more tickets and held the match at a grander venue.
“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.”
With a capacity of 20,000, the final at the Fortuna Arena is being played inside a venue less than a third of the size of the London Stadium.
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