GERMAN FANS IN ARSENAL CROWD TROUBLE
German fans storm stadium as Arsenal tie is plunged into chaos
UEFA will today investigate the crowd violence and chaotic scenes at the Emirates Stadium last night that caused the kick-off of the Europa League clash between Arsenal and FC Cologne to be delayed by an hour.
Police with dogs were deployed inside the stadium after scuffles broke out between away fans and stewards as authorities struggled to deal with up to 20,000 German fans arriving for a game for which Cologne’s ticket allocation was 3,000.
Problems started when fans without tickets blocked access for those trying to get in and were exacerbated when a gate was rushed, allowing a flood of supporters into the ground.
One of the main access walkways had already been
shut off two hours before the game and the decision was made to keep fans out while checks were made and the stadium cleared for a more orderly admission of supporters.
Even then, thousands of Cologne fans – determined to see their team’s first European tie for 25 years – were clearly cheering on their side from within home areas, but the decision was taken that it would be safer to allow the game to proceed rather than try to allow the fans to disperse into the streets.
UEFA will demand a full report into the problems but Arsenal head of communications Mark Gonnella said: “We decided the safest option was for the match to go ahead. We let fans into the stadium as everything was under control.
“We were aware about large numbers of fans coming and tried to avoid a situation where there would be large numbers of supporters without tickets.”
When the teams did emerge, flares were let off from the away section and the game began in a more febrile atmosphere than might have been expected.