A bar in Bilbao has admitted to “ramping up” prices for British football fans during the Europa League Final. The owner of a popular bar told a Spanish newspaper that he charges double for a small beer if he hears English being spoken.
His bar, Poza 42, is in an area frequented by British football fans as over 60,000 Brits flooded to Bilbao for the Europa League final. Newspaper Cadena Ser reported the owner said: “I’m charging people from here the normal price of €2 but it depends what you speak. If I can tell you’re English, I’ll ramp up the price. There’s no other difference. People who know Spanish are lucky. That’s how I’m going to do it.”
“A caña (small beer) is €4. Yes, I have doubled it… but it’s not all that much, you know? A little bit, but I’m not getting ahead of myself.”
In the fan zone at El Arenal, prices were reportedly even higher, at €5 for a caña or €10 for a 750ml beer.
Thousands of Brits headed to the Northern Spanish town of Bilbao to watch Tottenham Hotspurs play Manchester United in the 2025 Europa League final on Wednesday night. Spurs defeated Manchester United 1-0.
The Basque regional police force, Ertzaintza, confirmed seven arrests were made in relation to incidents following the football showdown as security officials enforced a ring of steel around the San Mames Stadium.
Videos online showed fans fighting and trashing streets, including one image where a young fan held a broken traffic light above his head.
An Ertzaintza spokesperson said: “We have made seven arrests linked to incidents arising from the Europa League final. All are foreigners but I can’t confirm if they are all British.
“The arrests were for fighting, criminal damage, disobedience and assaulting a police officer.”
Five detainees had already been released but would be summoned to appear before a judge at a later date, and two remained in police custody but were expected to be allowed to leave later today, a spokesman said.
