FC Bayern Munich will invalidate all 9,336 tickets for the lower tier of the Allianz Arena's south stand (Südkurve) and issue refunds ahead of its Champions League home game against Union Saint-Gilloise on January 21, 2026. This follows a €50,000 UEFA fine and partial closure order for pyrotechnics used by fans during the 3-1 group stage win over Sporting Lisbon on December 9, 2025.
UEFA's Disciplinary Committee fined FC Bayern Munich €50,000 and mandated the closure of blocks 111 to 114 in the lower tier of the south stand for the club's next Champions League home match against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise on January 21, 2026, at the Allianz Arena. The sanction, previously suspended and now activated, stems from ultras igniting pyrotechnics in the Südkurve during Bayern's 3-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon on December 9, 2025, violating UEFA safety rules.
Due to the club's ticketing system for home games—where the lower tier of the south stand (blocks 109 to 117) operates on a first-come, first-served basis without block-specific allocation, covering all 9,336 seats—Bayern cannot isolate the 4,800 tickets for the banned blocks. Consequently, the club is cancelling validity for the entire lower tier ahead of Friday, January 10, 2026, and barring entry to that section. Full refunds will be issued to affected ticket buyers.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen had previously sought dialogue with the ultras. The club stated: "Since in FC Bayern home games the lower tier of the south stand does not have block-specific ticket allocation and all 9,336 tickets for blocks 109 to 117 are valid, it is technically impossible for the club to specifically cancel only the 4,800 tickets for blocks 111 to 114." If seats in unaffected adjacent blocks (109-110 and 115-117) are resold, fans will be promptly informed of the procedure.
The measure highlights ongoing tensions between fan culture and UEFA's pyrotechnics prohibitions, though some observers doubt its long-term deterrent effect.
