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Soccer

UEFA defends Swiss venue ahead of Europa League final

UEFA have defended their choice of venue for this month's Europa League final. Liverpool and reig...



UEFA defends Swiss venue ahead...
Soccer

UEFA defends Swiss venue ahead of Europa League final

UEFA have defended their choice of venue for this month's Europa League final.

Liverpool and reigning chmapions Sevilla will meet in Basel's St. Jakob-Park. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 and regularly hosts matches involving Switzerland's national team.

Both sides are only guaranteed 10,000 tickets for the game. Reports are already suggesting that the 9,000 tickets will not be enough for Liverpool's fans as they prepare for their first European final in almost a decade.

The stadium has already been used by UEFA in previous years. St. Jakob-Park hosted six games during Euro 2008, including two quarter-finals and a semi-final.

In a statement released on their website, UEFA reiterated that that venues are picked two years before the final takes place so there is no way of knowing what teams will be competing.

"Evidence from the recent finals suggests that stadium capacity and ticket allocation for supporters of the two finalists have been very satisfactory. For those questioning the size of the stadium for this particular final, we would like to note that the number of supporters requesting final tickets varies from club to club, and of course it is impossible to predict in advance which clubs will reach the final."

45,000 fans attended last year's final in Warsaw between Sevilla and Ukrainian side Dnipro. That was over 11,000 under the stadium's capacity. Many of the finals in previous years have failed to sell-out, including the 2011 final in Dublin when Porto defeated Braga.

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