City will complain to Uefa over treatment of their supporters
RODGERS: I’M DEVASTATED THAT FANS MISSED PART OF GAME DUE TO SHUTTLE BUSES FIASCO
LEICESTER City are to lodge a complaint with Uefa about the treatment of their fans in Naples.
About 600 City supporters travelled to the Italian city for Thursday night’s Europa League clash, but many missed part of the game because of issues with shuttle buses.
Italian authorities mandated that City supporters took one of three shuttle buses, organised by Naples police, to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
But City supporters were taken the wrong way, and many missed the start of the game, with the third and final shuttle bus not arriving until half an hour into the fixture, after three goals had been scored.
City are understood to be extremely disappointed by the situation, especially given the lengths to which fans went to get to the game amid considerable Covid restrictions.
Given the treatment of fans, City are to submit a complaint with Uefa in the hope of at least an explanation for the events that led to supporters missing the match. City only discovered the specific venue from which they could distribute tickets on the morning of the game, but managed to get them to fans by 4pm, nearly three hours before kick-off.
Still, the shuttle buses turned up too late, and then went the wrong way, to the dismay of City supporters on board.
After City’s 3-2 defeat to Napoli, the players and staff went over to applaud those who had travelled, with Brendan Rodgers showing sympathy to those that had made the effort to get to Naples, where they had not only negotiated Covid restrictions and the debacle over shuttle buses, but travel costs and thunderstorms.
“It was hard enough for us to get to here, with how we travelled and the weather and everything,” Rodgers said.
“For them to be here, I’m absolutely devastated for them.
“They have followed us in Europe and given us great support.
“For us to not to get the result tonight for them, that’s hard for us.”