UEFA getting most of the blame would normally be fine, but my experience on the ground was that it was the police and stadium staff treating us like shit, and maybe that’s down to poor organisation, communication or briefing on UEFA’s part but I don’t totally buy it. It absolutely played a part as some other finals have some chaos to them, but not every UEFA event does whereas there is often chaos at domestic and European games in France, with their police often deciding on a use of force long before they would in other countries, so I’m not sure how much UEFA could have impacted it.
From what I’ve heard from some people who’ve been to Rugby games at the Stade de France, this incident is not the only one to happen there, but it’s just the largest and most publicised. Accounts of issues with the police, ticket system and local gangs afterwards are common in reports at other events, and I fear placing the blame mostly in UEFA will lead to similar issues happening at upcoming events at the stadium.
Having said that, my experience in Madrid was not positive around the ground with the police being overly aggressive and signage being very poor. Looking back if it was not for the wide expanse around the ground without fencing, similar would have happened due to the attitude of the authorities.
The police in these countries have to take lessons from this, and event organisers need to take lessons from this. We are not thugs looking for trouble but simply people looking to attend a spectacle. We may look my intimidating as a group or act more boisterously than those in other sports, but that’s all part of the spectacle and experience. We do not come for trouble but a good experience, and the only thing that should be able to somewhat spoil our day should be the result on the pitch, not our treatment outside the ground.
