UEFA have been heavily criticised over the imposition of ‘degrading’ conditions on Liverpool fans travelling to tonight’s Champions League match against Galatasaray.
Kopites in Istanbul will be forced to undertake an excessively lengthy bus journey with no toilets on board to RAMS Park, and they’ve also been warned that items such as phone power banks, medication and women’s hygiene products will be confiscated before entering the stadium (BBC Sport).
Journalist David Lynch has spoken out strongly against the inhumane treatment of visiting supporters in the Turkish capital and called out European football’s governing body for their lack of concern over the welfare of fans.
Lynch condemns UEFA over treatment of Liverpool fans
He told Anfield Index: “It’s a disgrace. If you’re going to make it so, so difficult for fans to come and watch football in your stadiums, then you shouldn’t be in the competitions until you can guarantee the safety of those supporters.
“When you read the list of conditions that fans have got to go through, like no toilets on the coaches, you have to go hours and hours before the game, you’re not allowed a power bank so your phone might be died by the end of the game.
“Who’s doing this for fun? You’re not going into battle; it’s supposed to be an enjoyable experience. I think it’s an absolute disgrace.
“You look at the issues that Liverpool have had with French clubs and then getting beat up by police in Spain. If anything like that happens, these clubs should be under threat and be required to guarantee the safety of supporters.
“UEFA couldn’t give a hoot about that at the moment. It’s just not right. I couldn’t believe what I was reading when Liverpool published the information.”
In recent days, Spirit of Shankly have also strongly condemned the rules which have been imposed on travelling LFC fans, which they described as ‘degrading and unsafe’, adding: ‘This is not about safety. It’s about control and convenience at the expense of dignity and risk management.’ (BBC Sport)
Football fans shouldn’t feel threatened going to games
No football fan should feel threatened, intimidated or dehumanised when going to a stadium to watch their team play, something which should be a joyous experience irrespective of its location.
Sadly, Liverpudlians are all too aware of UEFA’s inconsiderate attitude towards match-going supporters after the chaotic scenes in Paris prior to the 2022 Champions League final, which led to 900 fans filing a lawsuit against the governing body of European football.
Istanbul holds a special place in Kopites’ hearts ever since our glorious triumph over AC Milan in 2005, but it’s also a city where tragedy has struck, with two Leeds supporters murdered prior to their UEFA Cup semi-final away to Galatasaray 25 years ago.
While we obviously want Liverpool to claim three points on the pitch tonight, the single most important thing is that every Reds fan travelling to the game is kept safe and will return home without any harm being inflicted upon them.
To all those going to the match, enjoy the night but please take care. And UEFA, please wake up and stop treating match-going fans as if they’re a malign inconvenience.
You can watch the Liverpool squad prepare for Champions League action via our YouTube channel:
Is this pay back by UEFA for fans sueing them and booing their anthem . Who ever is in charge of UEFA should be sacked today for allowing this to happen the fans are not prisoners so why treat them like prisoners . If they want to use these tactics against football fans then every team in the compertition should demand an investigation into who ordered this action
No Albey, it’s the ultimate evolution of a political war between those wanting to keep the peace and those who feel they can act however they want, to whatever degree they want.
After all, THEIR free speech is more important than everyone else’s ! Right ?
All those stuck in the middle are the ones suffering the most because of it.
Women, children, the innocent who want to see a football match without being abused.
Perhaps it’s end of a storm……hopefully.
There’s only one way to deal with uefa, hit them in the pocket. It just needs every football fan to stop going to away games, but it’s got to be every clubs fans not just the few . I know it’s not going to happen, it not only uefa, it’s also your own club who should be standing by their fans. If clubs want the fans who pay to watch them week in week out, then it’s up to the clubs to get together and get it sorted with uefa.
It might work, Stuart, but how are you going to action that ?
Football is a very powerful drug.
Look at the Rangers fans who recently went to Eastern Europe (Belorussian team played in Hungary ?) to sit outside the stadium as the match was held behind closed doors.
I think they even got moved on…
Also, people and businesses should not have to suffer living in a totalitarian state.
It isn’t UEFA’s fault. It’s a societal issue that has never been addressed comprehensively.
Control has to have the upper hand on chaos.
It’s a sad fact that the amount of control becomes draconian when chaos becomes angrier.
Look how things are in airports compared to before 9/11.
We should all feel safe going to a football match.
Those who can’t temper their behaviour permanently, especially in a very emotive situation will simply go away for bit and then spoil it for everyone else once they believe the heat’s off.
If they can be identified and properly censured, it might work, but it has to be seen to be enforced to act as a real deterrent.
As an addendum to my previous post, I’d also like to point out to those interested, that Mr Mourinho’s recent stay at Fenerbahçe has highlighted that the climate in the Turkish League is also going through changes.
With Liverpool’s higher profile these days, it stands to reason that the Turkish authorities don’t want bad publicity, but I can also imagine that security as a whole across all these European ties will be tighter.