Manchester City and Inter Milan fans attending tonight’s Champions League final are facing an evening of transport chaos with supporters’ groups warning of long delays to simply board one of the free shuttle buses laid on by UEFA and some fans seen running on a busy motorway.
The governing body had asked matchgoers to start making their way to the Ataturk Stadium nine hours before kick off because of limited public transport and the 72,000-capacity arena being accessible via only one road. And at the end of their arduous journeys, fans are now facing long waits to get past security checks.
With four hours to go before Pep Guardiola’s team attempt to become the second English club side to complete a treble, some City fans were seen jumping out of taxis and running down a gridlocked road to reach the stadium, which is more than 15 miles from the city centre.
Meanwhile, a huge fire in a building about a mile east of the Ataturk has sent huge clouds of black smoke towards the stadium.
Both clubs have been given a fan zone outside the stadium serving food and beer in an attempt for them to be enticed to the area in plenty of time. The atmosphere among both sets of fans has been good natured in the lead up to the game, with City fans congregating on a laneway packed with cheap bars near Taksim Square.
But upon arrival at the stadium they will be met with three security checks and a heavy police presence and that has led to further delays.
As revealed by the Mirror this week, local officers made a number of compromises around fan culture following talks with UEFA. That included lifting domestic bans on allowing rainbow flags and any piece of clothing with “ultra” written on.
Last season’s final at Stade de France was overshadowed by dangerous overcrowding, misleading messaging and significant errors by police which saw thousands of Liverpool fans, including children and people with mobility issues, locked outside and attacked while locals attempted to break into the stadium.
An attempted cover-up by French police and senior government figures, aiming to blame Liverpool fans, was swiftly disproven and a comprehensive review from UEFA led to supporters receiving an apology and the authorities admonished.
Istanbul has twice had hosting duties taken away because of the coronavirus and in March there were suggestions that the match could be moved for a third time with some UEFA officials mindful of the recent election and the need for contingency plans.
Last month UEFA described reports of a potential switch as “inaccurate and unfounded” and added that it had “no discussions to the contrary with any political institutions, governments or national football associations.”
The stadium that hosted Liverpool’s dramatic 2005 win against Milan has had a substantial facelift in recent months that has included improvements to toilets and concession areas with additional work to accommodate the thousands of corporate guests and media.
Yet the infrastructure around the stadium remains problematic.
