England fans hit out at Uefa after travel chaos features ‘dangerous levels of overcrowding’

England fan leaders have demanded an “urgent and thorough review” of the travel chaos that engulfed the nation’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia that left many stranded in Gelsenkirchen and facing “dangerous levels of overcrowding”.

In a scathing 827-word statement about the “negligent crowd management” during Sunday night’s game, the Free Lions Fans’ Embassy laid bare the litany of complaints it had received from supporters about the ordeal they had faced getting in and out of the Arena AufSchalke.

Accusing those responsible of broken promises, the statement singled out Peter Both, Gelsenkirchen’s chief of police, for particular criticism after he told fans they should have come there expecting long delays.

“We are dismayed at what fans have had to go through at yesterday’s game in Gelsenkirchen,” it said. “To see fans stranded in Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof three hours after the game has finished due to transport problems at a major tournament is quite simply ridiculous.

“Ahead of the tournament we made it clear to Uefa and the authorities that many, many thousands of England fans would be travelling to Gelsenkirchen from the outer towns and cities in North Rhine-Westphalia and that transport back to Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof from Arena AufSchalke had to be the biggest priority.

“If Uefa are going to allocate a 9pm kick-off slot on a Sunday evening to any venue then they need to guarantee that transport arrangements are in place that allow all fans, including those going to fan zones, to travel safely, comfortably and conveniently both to, and crucially back from the venue.”

The statement went on to list a series of “chaotic transport failures that blighted the day for so many England fans”, including one that affected disabled supporters, with organisers accused of showing “a complete disregard for those with accessibility needs”.

It added: “Too many England fans found themselves involved in dangerous levels of overcrowding and were confronted with still being in the city three hours after the game finished, still facing travel to surrounding towns and cities to their accommodation.”

England are scheduled to play a last-16 tie in Gelsenkirchen if they win their group and the statement added: “It is clear to us that an urgent and thorough review of arrangements is needed before that event, with lessons learnt and dramatically enhanced provisions put in place. The initial defensive response of authorities locally suggests a complacency out of sync with what was required.”

That was a pointed response to comments made by Both in a press conference on Monday.

He said: “I was at Wembley last year and Wembley Stadium was sold out with 85,000 spectators and I can tell you, I wasn’t back on the train in London 10 minutes after the game from Wembley Stadium. I had to wait a very, very long time in a big crowd but I price that in when I go to an event like this. That’s what most people do.”

Simon Harris, a veteran member of the England Supporters Travel Club and a Conservative member of Shropshire Council who drove to the match, was among those who attended Sunday’s game to cite the fear of crushing.

Harris told Telegraph Sport: “You just had that moment. It’s not good to be funnelling 60,000 people into a narrow gate. You just go, ‘This isn’t sensible’.

“It was exceptionally bad. And the police don’t seem to care. All they needed was somebody to start taking control.”

‘People and children were starting to get crushed’

Others said the station was still packed more than three hours after the game while some fans described it as their “top three most hated places”.

One fan, Jack, said that there were also problems getting to the stadium from the fan zone and “people and children were starting to get crushed and breathless” in the crowds.

“No one listened and people were wanting to get to the game, I had to tell the German police multiple times to open the gates to allow people to walk and find their own way to the match which they eventually did after a lot of pressure from myself and supporters.”

He said that after what would normally have been a 20-minute journey to the stadium took two hours to complete, when fans left it was “absolute carnage”.

“The game finished at 11pm. We left the stadium to absolute carnage. No one telling anyone where they had to go. Massive crowds of families and children. The queues to the tram were nothing I’ve seen before.

“For a major tournament and world-class stadium, I can’t believe how poorly the execution to get people back to the city centre was. Trams that had a capacity of 400 people came every 15 minutes.

“The queues were huge and when the trams did come the utter desperation of people to get on caused chaos and further crushing.

“Uefa seriously need to look into what happened tonight, Gelsenkirchen doesn’t seem fit to host a major European game. They seem to lack the public transportation to cope with 50,000 people trying to get to and from the stadium.”

One family with young children was said to have been left in tears as a result of the chaos.

A spokeswoman for the Football Association said: “We are aware of the issues our fans experienced in Gelsenkirchen last night and will ensure their feedback is passed on to the organisers.”

Uefa, which has come under fire in recent years over the chaos which has engulfed recent Champions League finals, has been approached for comment.

Having once put Britain’s creaking railways to shame, Germany’s own network has itself been thrown into disarray in recent years.

UK police are expecting a record 350,000 England fans to travel out for Euro 2024, while there were an estimated 150,000 Scotland followers in Munich for their opening fixture alone.

Detlef Neuss, chair of Germany’s rail passenger lobby group Pro Bahn, warned such a mass influx would simply lead to “more problems with delayed trains and trains cancelled”.

Uefa’s sustainability strategy for Euro 2024 specifically encourages fans to use public transport to get to matches.