Istanbul ready to bury past Uefa ghost

Logistical issues of 2005 final sorted

Kiev – The 2020 Champions League final in Istanbul will have none of the logistical problems that marred the 2005 final or Saturday’s showpiece in Kiev, the vice-president of the Turkish Football Federation has said. Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium, scene of the memorable match when Liverpool clawed their way back from 3-0 against AC Milan to win on penalties, pipped Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz to stage the 2020 final on Thursday. Back in 2005 only one road linked the centre of Istanbul and the stadium, causing serious traffic jams and journey times of seven hours to get from the city to the ground. Fans also complained of expensive flight prices. “Today there is no problem whatsoever, the accommodation, connections, roads, railways and underground are in place and there will be no problem in terms of logistics. It will be a fantastic venue,” Turkish federation vice president Servet Yardimci told Reuters in an interview in Kiev.

“In 2005 it was probably too early to have hosted that final, the stadium was completed and immediately after when this final took place we had some hiccups.

“We have given guarantees over security, logistics and financial guarantees. “Turkey, especially Istanbul, has developed so much (since 2005) that you would expect this kind of development to have occurred in 80 years. Istanbul is also a great gateway to the Middle East and Africa.”

Logistical problems also affected Saturday’s Champions League final in Kiev, where Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1. Madrid returned 1 000 tickets due to high travel and accommodation costs, while an estimated 1 000 English supporters were unable to travel due to flight cancellations.