West Ham fans have expressed their discontent at the 5:45 kick-off time for their UEFA Europa League Round of 16 second leg against SC Freiburg.
With only two days left, there are over 12,000 seats still available at the London Stadium.
Last time out
West Ham have already played SC Freiburg in this year’s group stage. The official attendance for that game was 48,876 and the kick-off time was 8:00.pm. GMT.
Around 50,000 tickets have been sold for the visit of Freiburg on Thursday. Hammers fans have blamed the kick-off time for the ground not selling out yet.
It is the first time that David Moyes’ side have been given a 5:45 p.m. for a European home game this season. The London club will be looking to overturn the 1-0 defeat they suffered in Freiburg last week.
West Ham fan reaction to available seats
@theongarboy on X (formerly Twitter) said: “To be fair I tend to think we’ve been fortunate that this is the first 5:45 we’ve had at home in Europe. I guess it’s a result of more British clubs progressing in Europa & Conference.”
To be fair I tend to think we’ve been fortunate that this is the first 5.45 we’ve had at home in Europe. I guess it’s a result of more British clubs progressing in Europa & Conference.
— Neal Clark (@theongarboy) March 11, 2024
Supporters also pointed out that the tickets sold so far might not be representative of the number of people that attend the game on the night. @icf66 said: “Sold and turning up are two different things, Burnley was apparently sold out, yet thousands of empty seats. Loads bought tickets before they knew the kick-off time. I’d be surprised if there’s 40,000 there. There’ll be one anyway, I’m going.”
Sold and turning up are two different things , Burnley was apparently sold out , yet thousands of empty seats. Loads bought tickets before they new the kick off time. I'd be surprised if there's 40.000 there . There'll be one anyway , I'm going 😁
— gary thompson (@icf66) March 12, 2024
Out of the 12,705 tickets still available for the Europa League clash, only 115 are located in the lower tiers of the ground. The rest are in the upper tiers.
As at 5pm today, 12,705 tickets are remaining for sale for the Europa League game on Thursday evening at 5.45pm.
There are only 115 tickets left in the lower tiers of the stadium. The remaining tickets are in the upper tiers pic.twitter.com/3LJhCay1n1
— West Ham Football (@westhamfootball) March 12, 2024