Liverpool Fans Turn Beer Cup Collection into Profit on European Trip
Supporters at LASK match collected returned cups, earning enough to cover travel costs.
Liverpool fans attending a Champions League match in Austria found an unexpected way to offset their travel expenses: collecting discarded plastic beer cups.
At the Raiffeisen Arena, home to Austrian side LASK, supporters were offered a refund of approximately £2.50 for each cup returned to the bar. This initiative led some fans to amass dozens of cups, creating large "beer snakes" and significantly reducing their trip costs. One fan reported earning as much as £250, a sum sufficient to cover their excursion expenses.
The practice of refunding beer cups is not a common feature in English football, though it has appeared in other European matches involving Liverpool. Similar schemes were in place for Liverpool's Europa League fixture against Sparta Prague in March 2024 and a Champions League match in Leipzig in October 2024. The English club Lewes, which competes in the seventh tier, also introduced a cup refund scheme in September of the previous year.
On the field, Liverpool secured a decisive 6-3 victory against LASK. Despite defensive vulnerabilities, the team displayed strong offensive performance, with multiple players contributing goals. Young striker Lewis Koumas scored his first goal of the season, and midfielders Bradley Barcola and Florian Wirtz were noted for their offensive contributions, including a hat-trick from Barcola and an assist from Wirtz. Defenders Ronald Araujo and Jeremie Frimpong also found the back of the net.