Tottenham vs Red Star Belgrade: Why will there be so many empty seats for Champions League group stage game?
The Serbian club have been banned from selling tickets to their fans as a punishment for racism
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Your support makes all the difference.The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will not be at full capacity for tonight’s Champions League fixture against Red Star Belgrade.
This is due to the fact that the Serbians are not allowed to sell tickets to their fans as a punishment for racist chanting.
Spurs have therefore been unable to put tickets on general sale for fear of these being bought by Red Star supporters.
New Tottenham Hotspur members who have joined in the last month have also been unable to purchase tickets.
The club’s 48,000 season ticket holders have been allowed to buy up to three additional seats in a bid to boost attendance.
Members who joined more than a month ago have also been afforded this guest sale allowance, but many tickets remain unsold.
Uefa have allowed Red Star to bring 200 supporters with Category 1 tickets.
These will be seated in hospitality areas rather than in the designated away end.
The ban stems from incidents during a July qualifying fixture against HJK Helsinki in Finland.
The Serbian club were also fined £44,500 after the charge of racist behaviour was proven.
It is the second successive year that such a sanction has been levied against Red Star – last year, fans were unable to buy tickets for the games against Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool.
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