Polish watchdog faults Euro 2012 ticket rules
Poland's consumer protection office on Friday said it had launched legal action against UEFA over rules governing tickets for the looming European football championships in the country.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: March 17, 2012 12:29 PM IST
Poland's consumer protection office on Friday said it had launched legal action against UEFA over rules governing tickets for the looming European football championships in the country.
The watchdog, known as the UOKiK, said in a statement that it was particularly concerned that the European football governing body "declined in an arbitrary fashion its responsibility for delays in the delivery of tickets" for Euro 2012.
The UOKiK also criticised UEFA for refusing to "replace a ticket in the event of loss or theft".
It objected to UEFA having given itself the right unilaterally to change the date, time and location of a match due to "unforeseen circumstances", without providing a reason as required by Polish law.
The UOKiK also contested the rules allowing UEFA to change a fan's seat.
In total, it took the governing body to task for 25 separate clauses which fans had to accept before they could buy tickets for Euro 2012, which Poland will host along with neighbours Ukraine.
UEFA brushed off the criticism, saying the good of supporters was high in its mind.
"The interests of fans and consumers are always a priority for UEFA, including when it comes to matters such as the ticketing terms and conditions governing our competitions," a spokesman told AFP.
"UEFA does not intend to comment publicly on the merits of this case before the final decision of the competent court. However, we are confident that the court will take into consideration all arguments presented by UEFA during the process."
The 16-nation tournament kicks off in Warsaw on June 8 and ends with the final in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on July 1.
But any legal ruling is highly unlikely during the tournament, as a Warsaw court is not set to start hearing the case until June 22.
Euro 2012 has seen record demand, with over 12 million people applying for the more than 550,000 tickets available for the general public.
Ahead of Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria, 10.4 million people applied for the 300,000 on sale.
This time the vast majority, almost 88 percent, of ticket applicants were from Poland and Ukraine.