TICKETS for next week’s Uefa Cup final in Manchester are changing hands for up to £1,500.

Up to 100,000 Glasgow Rangers fans are expected in the city for Wednesday’s showpiece final against Zenit St Petersburg in Russia.

But the City of Manchester stadium will host just 44,000 supporters on the night, with tens of thousands of Rangers fans locked out of the game.

Supporters’ groups say black market ticket prices have rocketed to £1,500 as the game approaches.

They say the lucrative trade in tickets means some Rangers supporters could even end up in the Zenit end – although they don’t believe it will result in trouble.

More than £1,000 is being demanded for pairs of tickets on eBay although bosses at the online market are removing them over fears it could result on opposing fans sitting beside each other.

“Beg, steal or borrow”

David Edgar, chairman of the Rangers Supporters’ Trust, said: “It’s beg, steal or borrow at the moment. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. People are doing anything to get into the game.

“These are salt-of-the-earth working class guys. They haven’t got much money. They’re just finding the money from anywhere.

“Tickets are going for between a grand and £1,500. There are some tickets on ebay but they are being taken down because of concerns about segregation.

“Fans are having to contact the buyer before that happens. That’s the only way round it for a lot of guys.

“Last week match tickets were going for between £400 and £500 but as we get close to the game they’re between a grand and £1,500. That’s the most expensive I’ve heard about.

“That’s OK if you win but it’s a pain in the backside if you get beat.

“Fans are desperate to watch the match. There was never going to be enough supply to meet demand. I think there are 17,000 official tickets. At least 2,000 or 3,000 others will have got tickets directly from Uefa. That’s how I got mine.

“Then you are probably looking at 4,000 or 5,000 who will get in through the corporate route or with tickets they have bought through agencies.”

Trouble-free

He insisted that although some fans would end up in the `wrong end’ the occasion should be trouble-free.

“There’s always potential but at the moment I don’t see many fans in the Russian end,” he said.

“If they get a chance for a ticket in there they will take it. The rest of the ground will be full of Rangers fans.

“It will be so well policed that it will be impossible for there to be any trouble. Given the amount of money they’re spending on tickets, no one will want to risk getting thrown out of the ground or getting arrested before the game.

“I don’t anticipate that kind of match. It’s going to be a friendly invasion.

“You are going to have guys who are desperate for tickets but people are just going to enjoy being there (in Manchester) for the day.”

He also praised the U-turn by Greater Manchester Police to allow big screens in special fan zones, so supporters locked out of the ground can watch the game.

“That’s changed the attitude entirely up here. A lot of people are really looking forward to it,” said Mr Edgar.

Meanwhile, it has emerged 15,000 Manchester United fans could be locked out of their game at Wigan, where the Reds could clinch the Premier League title on Sunday.

Some Wigan supporters are reported to have sold their match tickets to United fans, meaning Reds could end up in the wrong end.

GMP, which has launched a huge security operation for the game, says `a larger crowd than usual’ is expected but hopes the match will `pass off without any trouble’.