The away endand why you will almost never sit in it

It is not about price or availability, but about how the tickets are handed out in the first place:

• The allocation is small and fixed

  The home club sets aside a small part of the ground, usually one area - a corner or the end of a stand. That is what exists, and it does not grow with demand.

• It goes out through the away club

  The visiting club distributes what it received to its own members, by seniority. It is not a channel that opens to the general public.

• It is not tradable

  Such a ticket is bought in a name, sometimes collected at the ground, and transferring it is against the rules. So we do not sell it - which is a more honest answer than trying.

• The checks are tighter

  Entry to the away section is scrutinised more closely, and sometimes the approach to it is separated from the street itself.

At a European ground the home and away support do not meet, and that separation is built into the place:

• Separate gates

  Each side enters through its own gates, sometimes from a different street entirely.

• A buffer

  Empty rows or a partition sit between the two, often with stewards along the whole length.

• No crossing

  You cannot move from one side to the other during the match, not even to join friends.

That is why the cheap seat behind the goal is not always a bargain: if it falls on the side set aside for away fans, it will not seat you with the group you came with - and sometimes it will not even let you in at the same gate.

On this site it is written on the stadium page itself. These are the eight grounds where we have it documented:

• BayArena, Leverkusen

  The south-west corner of the south stand - the one stand still on a single tier, and so the lowest in the ground.

• Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam

  The north stand, sections 416-417, entering through gate K. The home F-Side block sits at the opposite end.

• Groupama Stadium, Lyon

  The high blocks of the east stand, at the end nearest the south stand.

• Bernabéu, Madrid

  Usually the upper part of Fondo Norte, on the top tier - the highest and steepest area in the ground.

• Stade Louis II, Monaco

  A corner of the Populaires, at the Cap d’Ail end beneath the arches. With children, the central part of the Populaires is better.

• Şükrü Saracoğlu, Istanbul

  One end of the north stand, on both tiers: blocks F, G and H above, N, O and P below - spilling slightly into the corner.

• RAMS Park, Istanbul

  The south-east corner of the upper tier, through gates 418 to 421. Getting up there is 110 steps, with no lift.

• Tüpraş Stadyumu, Istanbul

  The upper blocks at the end opposite Çarşı, in the south stand - blocks 418 to 421.

At grounds that are not on this list the away end exists all the same, it is simply not documented here - and in that case we check it before you order rather than after.

Some of the loudest stands in Europe are standing terraces, and there a ticket behaves differently:

• There is no allocated seat

  The ticket admits you to an area, not to a chair. You arrive early to claim a spot and stand for ninety minutes.

• The Yellow Wall, Dortmund

  The south stand is the biggest single-tier terrace in Europe, close to 25,000 standing supporters.

• European nights can change it

  At some grounds the terrace is converted to numbered seats for the European competitions, and fewer spectators fit into the same stand; at Dortmund, though, standing has been allowed for Champions League matches since the 2022/23 season. It is checked match by match.

• Some stands barely open at all

  Bayern’s Südkurve is a home standing end in the Bundesliga, and tickets for it hardly ever reach open sale.

If you came to watch a match rather than to join a supporters’ block, these three are almost always better:

• Longside

  Facing the halfway line. The best angle there is, and the most neutral part of the ground.

• Central upper tier

  The whole shape of the game in view, and usually relatively quiet.

• A corner, carefully

  A fair compromise - but the corners are what touch the segregation line, so it matters which one.

If you are sitting in the home sections - and as said, you almost always will be - these four matter more than they look:

1. 1No away coloursA shirt, a scarf or a flag of the other side in the home end is the fastest route to an unpleasant evening.
2. 2An away goal is not your momentEven if you support them. In the home end this is behaviour stewards take seriously.
3. 3Stewards remove people, quicklyIf it happens, do not argue. Anyone asked to leave, leaves - and holding a ticket does not protect you from that.
4. 4Neutral clothing solves itWith no colours at all you are simply another spectator, which is exactly what you want to be that evening.

Three things worth saying in the request, so you do not discover them at the gate:

• If you support the away team

  Say so. We will not sell you a place in the away end, because it is not traded - but we will check which side of the segregation line the seat falls on and tell you before you order.

• If you are a group

  Tell us how many. Seats together and segregation are two constraints that pull against each other, and it is better to settle them before the order.

• If you want it quiet

  With children or older parents, it is worth staying away from the active supporters’ stands and the corners next to them.