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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Rangers team up with Eintracht Frankfurt and supporters group following Europa League final fan complaints in Seville

Rangers release joint statement with Eintracht Frankfurt following Europa League fan treatment

RANGERS have teamed up with Eintracht Frankfurt and Football Supporters Europe following the treatment of fans in Seville for the Europa League final.

Fans of both teams have highlighted several stories from their experiences both inside the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in the Spanish city, and surrounding the ground.

Accounts of kiosks running out of food and water, fans feinting and tap water supplies being cut off in bathrooms are just some of the examples which have been brought forward since the final on May 18.

Eintracht Frankfurt went on to win the Europa League on penalties.

But the match was somewhat overshadowed by the lack of organisation of the event from UEFA, similar to this weekend's Champions League showpiece in Paris.

Now, both clubs involved in the Europa League final have released a joint statement to make their feelings clear about the matter, revealed they will work together and report back to UEFA to ensure a repeat never happens again.

It reads: "Last Friday, representatives of Eintracht Frankfurt, Rangers FC, and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) met to debrief and discuss several significant organisational issues during the recent UEFA Europa League final in Sevilla.

"These issues could easily have led to even more severe problems on the night and it was only thanks to the calmness and mutual respect of both sets of fans towards each other that there were not more severe injuries suffered. All three parties applaud the remarkable calmness of the two fan bases, given the situation they faced.

"Apart from the severe lack of food and - even more critically in the soaring temperatures - of water, there were several organisational problems around policing, body searches and beyond. Both clubs, as well as FSE, received a huge amount of complaints and witness statements from fans present in the stadium.

"All three parties will now work jointly to report back to UEFA and the local public authorities in Spain, and will make recommendations to ensure these problems can never occur again at a European final.

"Fans spend a lot of effort, time and money following their teams all over Europe and expect to be treated with respect and dignity while attending football games. This expectation was not met at all at the Europa League final in Sevilla."

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