LONDON • Uefa is set to get involved in the ticket prices tit-for-tat between Manchester United and Sevilla in the lead-up to their Champions League last 16 tie next month.

The dispute sparked into life on Wednesday after United sent an e-mail to their supporters outlining their response to Sevilla's decision to charge £89 (S$160) for visiting fans attending the first leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Feb 21.

Liverpool fans who went to see their team play there in November were charged £54. As such, United have decided to not only subsidise their fans the £35 difference, but also increase the price to £89 for visiting spectators attending the Old Trafford second leg in March.

In comparison, the lowest-priced ticket for the Champions League final last year was sold for just £60.

Sevilla insist they, too, will cover the additional sum for their fans and intend to contact Uefa over United's cost increase as well as their allocation of only 2,995 away tickets for the return meeting.

The European governing body's rules stipulate at least 5 per cent of a stadium's capacity should be available to visiting fans, but Sevilla claim their opponents have not offered them 3,800 tickets because of "security reasons".

"Sevilla will look to guarantee no Sevillista pays a penny more than any Manchester United fan for similar tickets - as competition regulations dictate," read a statement from the club.

In the e-mail sent to supporters who have tickets for the game in Seville, United's head of ticketing and membership, Sam Kelleher, said that the difficult decision was made after attempts to persuade the Spanish LaLiga club to lower their "increased/excessive" price failed.

He added: "We want this to act as a deterrent to future opponents who look to increase ticket prices for our travelling supporters."

The Red Devils have also pledged that any extra revenue will be donated to the club's foundation.

THE GUARDIAN