UEFA have come under fire again for their organisation of a major event less than a year after the Champions League final fiasco involving Liverpool.
Inter Milan fans were stuck waiting in cramped conditions outside Porto’s stadium on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg – which eventually ended goalless as the Italian side progressed on aggregate. In scenes bearing some resemblance to those from the Stade de France last May, hundreds of fans were left queuing for entry to the Estadio do Dragao just moments before kick-off.
Some were even stuck down a ramped walkway which led to a tunnel in crowded circumstances with limited room to move as they patiently waited to get inside. Many failed to gain entry to the stadium before the game got under way.
READ MORE: Porto star Galeno has his pants pulled down in Champions League – literally
Journalist Simone Togna shared pictures from the scene, warning: “Scandal and danger at Do Dragao: these are the conditions of many Inter fans, completely crowded together, who were denied entry to the stadium.”
The shameful situation came after Portuguese authorities opted to block any Inter fans who had booked tickets in other areas of the ground outside of the club’s away allocation – believed to be in the region of 1,000 people – only to reverse their decision on Tuesday ahead of the game, providing Inter fans did not dress in club colours.
However, that still proved problematic ahead of the fixture as fans fumed at their treatment. Inter supporter Luca Pozzoni wrote on Twitter: “Shame on Porto. 1,000 Inter fans with regular tickets blocked outside the gates. There are children among us. Unblock the situation.”
Another fan, named Rhys, branded the situation a “f***ing disaster”, adding: “‘I felt extremely unsafe, and I imagine many others did too.”
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta confirmed he would be lodging a formal complaint, despite insisting UEFA were “not to blame”. “I also want to spare a thought for circa a thousand fans who were left outside the stadium even after regularly purchasing a ticket,” he said following the game. “This was unexpected and obviously we will make a formal complaint to UEFA to have a clear picture of what happened.
“I saw footage of families who were locked outside, children crying who had flown here from Italy. Football must represent unity and joy, so this is a bitter page in what was otherwise a wonderful evening. We had met with the local authorities this morning and they assured us that the fans would be allowed in even beyond those limits of the away section. Instead, this did not happen.
(Image: PA)
“These were for the most part families with children, who certainly weren’t here to perpetrate acts of violence, but to support their team. I don’t believe the situation was so serious as to ban their entry. We realise UEFA are not to blame, but we feel that with a formal complaint we can prevent this sort of thing ever happening again.”
UEFA will have questions to answer after their poor organisation of the Champions League final last summer. The governing body have only just confirmed they will be refunding all Liverpool fans and some Real Madrid fans who attended the showpiece final after the shambolic issues ahead of the game.
Free £2 shop bet with William Hill every day of the Cheltenham Festival – plus all the fantastic daily coverage you need
Pick up your Daily Star every day of the festival for racing specials, day by day updates and free bet EVERY DAY.
Celebrate the biggest racing week of the year- the Cheltenham Festival. One of the most prestigious National Hunt Meetings of the calendar is not to be missed…and we’ve got a bumper week of amazing content and great reader offers. Find out more HERE.
Many Liverpool fans with tickets were denied entry to the stadium, forcing kick-off to be delayed, while they were hemmed into dangerous bottlenecks and long queues for more than two hours. French police even sprayed some fans with tear gas whilst they waited.
UEFA initially blamed the delay in kick-off on Liverpool fans with fake tickets, but later retracted that statement before issuing an apology. An independent commission found UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the failure, whilst their report added: “It is remarkable that no one lost their life.” The latest incident provides another cause for concern.
Many Liverpool fans have called for UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin to resign over the saga in Paris, insisting their complaints were never about the money, with Real Madrid supporters following suit. Fans from both clubs are in the process of suing UEFA for damages.
READ NEXT: