Celtic UCL rivals spark outrage with their own fans as 'out of touch' ticket prices for Hoops clash near £100

A Champions League rival Celtic will face this season have been criticised for their ticket price details for home matches at Europe’s top table.

Aston Villa welcome the Premiership champions to Birmingham in January as part of the revamped league phase format of the Champions League. The Premier League side have been widely lamented though after ticket pricing was released for home matches, the first being against Bayern Munich.

Bologna, Juventus and Celtic will then all travel to Villa Park but ticket prices for an adult brief are priced at £85, £94 and £97. Discounted rates of £70, £79 and £82 respectively apply to season ticket holders.

The Football Supporters' Association labelled Aston Villa's ticket prices "truly eye-watering". By comparison, a four-match package in the Champions League on sale to season ticket holders at Celtic comes in at £184 for an adult, or £46 a game.

Outrage is rife within the Premier League side’s ranks and The Aston Villa Supporters Trust said in a statement: “As part of the Fan Advisory Board, the Trust met with the Club towards the end of last season to discuss ticket prices including the Champions League if we were to qualify and made clear pricing should be no higher than that of a Category A game if we did.

“For the Club to announce Champions League ticket prices well above this season's Category A is extremely disappointing, especially given the recent match day experience with delays of over 30 minutes getting into the ground, issues with access to seating and toilet facilities.

“When compared to other English clubs in the Champions League this year and indeed UEFA's own away ticket price cap, today's announcement is out of touch. Loyal Villa fans who've waited as long as 40 years to celebrate this momentous season are being punished and exploited at the expense of the Club's compliance to PSR, ESR and publicly known revenue generation targets.

“The Trust fears the Club will alienate fans with these prices and urges the Club to rethink ahead of the first home match against Bayern Munich in October. On a separate note, we welcome the announcement about more reasonable pricing for League Cup and First Round FA Cup home games for adults and children.”