The mayor of Kiev has apologised for extortionate hotel prices in the Ukrainian city ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid which the Spanish side won 3-1.

There have been reports that some hotels have been hiking up their prices by as much as £1,000 a night.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said many people in Kiev had offered their homes and apartments for fans to stay in but he said he was sorry that some hotels had tried to exploit the game.

Mr Klitschko told Sky News:"I am sorry about some of the prices, but we have no control over what prices are charged. This happens in big sporting occasions."

He said a great atmosphere was building in the city as the kick-off between Real Madrid and Liverpool neared.


"We think everyone will be happy, it's a great atmosphere," he said.

Klitschko: Kiev problems 'fixed' for fans

His comments came as up to 1,000 Liverpool fans faced the disappointment of not being able to watch their team play in the final because of the cancellation of four flights due to an insufficient number of landing spots at Ukraine's Boryspil Airport.

Mr Klitschko said this problem had now been resolved.

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The former boxer said: "We have made a lot of calls with the mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, and we have fixed the problems.

Amazing at Jamie Webster’s set in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv! #AllezAllezAllez 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/QpSrpAZtgx — Radio City News (@RadioCityNews) May 26, 2018

"I have information today that everyone who has a ticket will be in the stadium."

Three flights had been cancelled by operator Worldchoice Sports and a further flight booked through Myriad Travel and Crown Travel was also called off.

Image: Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has criticised the flight cancellations

Liverpool announced on Friday that anyone who bought match tickets direct from the club and had been affected by the cancelled flights would be able to claim a refund.

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Worldchoice Sports said due to the number of flights heading to Ukraine ahead of Liverpool's meeting with Real Madrid, Boryspil Airport had been unable to allocate times for the three planes.

Hundreds of disappointed fans aired their frustrations on Twitter, with one writing: "This was the biggest game of my life. Games like this come along every 10 years if you're lucky, I should be excited and instead I'm just gutted."

Image: Liverpool fans enjoy the build-up to the final

Liverpool fan Daryl Oprey told Sky News: "We've seen it before at large football tournaments - the actual fans who pay week in week out get very little allocation."

A bomb scare earlier on Saturday forced to closure of several subway stations. The threat turned out to be a hoax and all the stations are now open.