Uefa has been accused of treating fans at the Champions League final in Istanbul like “cattle”, with Manchester City supporters unable to return to their city centre hotels until past 3am after a late kick-off and a scramble for shuttle buses at the end of the game.
A chaotic “free for all” outside the Atat?rk Olympic Stadium caused full buses of fans that had been laid on to return them to the centre of Istanbul, more than 15 miles away, to stand for more than an hour and a half before they could start to make the journey back, fans said.
Some supporters of City and Internazionale said they were unable to even get on a bus and were charged as much as EUR300 (?256) for a taxi from the remote ?kitelli district on the far western outskirts of the sprawling Turkish city. Such a journey would normally cost about EUR15 (?12).
“What’s the point of having a fantastic showcase final, with fireworks and all the rest, but not having any infrastructure to get fans back,” said Steve Redmayne, 41, who had travelled with his father Colin, 74, and son Joe, 14. “It was a shambles. When we finally got on a shuttle bus back, it sat for 90 minutes without moving. We got back after 3am. We paid EUR150 (?128) for a taxi there, too, as the queues for the shuttle buses going to the stadium were horrendous.”
The final, won by a single goal by Manchester City, kicked off at a local time of 10pm to accommodate the demands of broadcasters.
Many Manchester City fans had already endured an arduous journey to the stadium after being advised by Uefa not to use the Metro but to take buses laid on at the port quarter of Yenikapi for the 26km journey.
Those who secured a seat on a bus between 1pm and 3pm spoke of a smooth system but fans arriving after 4pm faced queues of up to three hours to get a place.
Many instead took taxis but the traffic ground to a standstill on the main road to the stadium leading to scenes of fans running down the highway as they tried to make kick-off.
Uefa had organised fan zones at either end of the stadiums, and City fans spoke of this being well organised until one of three bars ran out of beer at 6pm – four hours before the start of the game – causing a crush.
In the stadium, alcohol was not for sale and fans found they were charged as much as EUR20 for a bottle of Pepsi, they said.
A 68th minute goal by defensive midfielder, Rodri, sealed victory for City, and their first Champions League title. City are the second English club, after Manchester United in 1998-1999 team, to win the treble after this season’s FA Cup and Premier League triumphs.
Paul Cross, 51, a project manager from Preston, said it was a shame the occasion had been marred by a “free for all” after the game.
Such was the chaos that Cross said he walked for up to half an hour with tens of others to a nearby village before ending up sharing a taxi with an Inter fan.
“But they were staying close to the airport and so we had to get a taxi back from there as well,” he said. “We finally got here at 2.20am but there were still people coming back after 3am and later.”
Simon Moore, 54, a firefighter, from Accrington, was travelling with his sons Harry, 29, and Alfie, 18, and only returned to their hotel in Yenikapi, where many City fans stayed, at 3.15am.
One of their tickets cost ?188 and the two others EUR599. “We thought the expensive tickets would have a special view but they were in the same area, really no different,” he said. “The stadium is good but it is just so far away from where people were staying. We waited to get on a bus and that was about 20 minutes, which was fine but then it just sat there for an hour and a half. That said, and people might think I am crackers, but I wouldn’t have changed it.”
Last February, Uefa was accused of bearing “primary responsibility” for the catastrophic organisational and safety failures of last season’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Paris last May.
Teargas and pepper spray were used by the French police on fans as huge numbers of people were crushed together. Uefa, the French police and government ministers had claimed without any basis in fact that the problem had been the fault of thousands of Liverpool fans arriving without valid tickets.
“How does Uefa get away with treating people like cattle?” asked Jeff White, 62, from Salford.
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