Fan fury at Anfield ticket carve-up

Only 11,000 rank and file supporters gained tickets through the club's ballot system for Wednesday's Athens showdown against AC Milan with the remainder going to former shareholders, corporate season ticket holders, players, former players, staff and sponsors.

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Anfield's new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks are believed to be upset that the row is overshadowing the build-up to another great night for Rafael Benitez's team, with chief executive Rick Parry in the firing line.

Reds supporter Ian Latta said: "Liverpool are the biggest club in the world and we can't get it right. George Gillett and Tom Hicks must be so embarrassed - I just can't imagine an American sport club handling a ticket allocation like this."

Gillett and Hicks have expressed their concern over the way the ticketing has been handled by the club.

Hicks said: "George and I have had hundreds of e-mails from disappointed fans. We hear them and feel for them and we will review the situation for them.

"Unfortunately, we have no control over how UEFA allocates to the clubs, but what we did at Liverpool didn't run as smoothly as it should have done. George and I have made a commitment to review the whole process for the future."

Of the 11,000 tickets available to regular supporters, 3,300 went to those who attended seven Champions League fixtures over the season, leaving just 7,700 for season ticket and fan card holders who had attended six Champions League games this season.

More than 30,000 Liverpool fans are expected to travel to Athens but with the capacity of the Olympic stadium limited to 63,000, fans are paying up to £1,500 for a ticket on the black market.

Parry sought to explain the situation through a lengthy statement on the club's official website on Monday night.

He said: "For any final, we have commitments to former shareholders, corporate season ticket holders, players, former players, staff and sponsors.

"These commitments do not change significantly from one year to another and were in place when I arrived at the club. So when people suggest that tickets have somehow gone astray this year I think it's important that these commitments are taken into consideration.

"Given that the ballot denied a ticket to many of our supporters who have been so instrumental in helping the team reach Athens, the outcome is understandably disappointing to those so affected.

"I want again to express my regret over the heartache experienced by so many of our supporters in missing out on a ticket they deserve. I wish you could all have a ticket.

"I can only assure all those fans that we did our best with the very limited number of tickets we were given and at all times we have been consistent and fair.

"Just as we did in 2001 at Dortmund and 2005 in Istanbul we raised our grave concerns with UEFA over what we consider a totally inadequate allocation.

"We have asked them again to look at the needs of the supporters as the paramount consideration in the staging of any European final and we will continue to do so."