MAYHEM HITS THE EMIRATES
Thugs urinate in streets, make Nazi salutes and storm the turnstiles, forcing stadium into lockdown
Arsenal launched their european campaign in chaos last night as thousands of Cologne fans forced the kick-off to be delayed by an hour.
The europa league match was delayed amid safety fears as some visiting supporters stormed through security cordons and tried to fight their way through turnstiles.
about 20,000 fans were estimated to have made the trip from Germany to savour Cologne’s first taste of european football for 25 years.
The sheer volume caused problems for police and stewards at the emirates stadium. More specifically, many fans did not have tickets while others acquired them for the arsenal sections of the ground, forcing the london club to close the gates and put the stadium into ‘lockdown’.
There were reports of anti-social behaviour, with supporters urinating in the streets.
One photograph on social media showed a man with blood pouring from a head wound.
ITV’s political editor robert Peston took to Twitter to report Cologne fans making nazi salutes and ‘peeing on doorsteps’ amid ‘chaos at arsenal’.
The Metropolitan Police released a statement which said: ‘Officers are dealing with disorder at the emirates stadium where fans have gathered for the arsenal vs FC Cologne match.
‘a policing plan is in place for the game. additional officers have been deployed.’
Initially only 110 officers were designated for duty at the game, but more were drafted in as kick-off loomed, the crowds neared the stadium and the problems intensified.
Groups of German fans stormed past the outer cordon, where tickets were being checked, and some tried to force their way through the gates.
Kick-off was put back from 8.05pm to 9.05pm.
security meetings were held as safety experts decided whether the match could go ahead. There was a strong argument to call off the game. equally, it was argued, it would be worse to turn the fans back into london without having seen the game.
Turnstiles were closed and fans stacked up outside on the generous concourse outside the ground. at a less-modern venue, it might easily have been more chaotic.
as it was, police riot vans and dog units poured into the area and seized control, blocking off key routes to the ground including the bridge across the railway tracks from Drayton Park station.
Police helicopters circled overhead. still, in the streets, tickets were changing hands.
The vast majority of supporters waited in good spirits despite the rain, but at every entrance — those intended for home fans and away fans — there were hundreds of Cologne supporters, dressed in colours and singing loudly.
When the dust settles on this mess, arsenal and the Fa could receive calls from UeFa because article 15.1 of their safety regulations states the governing body holds the home team responsible for the allocation of the ‘home’ tickets, so many of which had found their way into the hands of Cologne supporters.
arsenal were well aware of the anticipated invasion and said last night they had been in dialogue with the Bundesliga team as they made plans for the fixture.
They gave Cologne an allocation of 3,000 tickets and issued warnings on their website ahead of the game about segregation.
The Gunners closed down sales to members who joined after the draw was made and warned the Germans that none of them would be allowed into the home end, even if they had tickets.
By the time the turnstiles were ready to open, it was clear that hundreds were in the arsenal seats.
at about 7.45pm, the turnstiles were opened to huge cheers but the stewards and police still had segregation issues because Cologne fans with tickets for the arsenal seats tried to make their way into the away section.
riot police came into the ground to oversee the operation.
When the Cologne supporters sang and bounced in time, figures could be seen bouncing in all parts of the stadium. security chiefs watched television monitors intently as the ground started to fill up and at 8.30pm came confirmation that the match would go ahead at 9.05pm.
arsenal chiefs and the police concluded it would be safer to play than to clear the stands. eventually the players emerged.
‘Welcome to the home of football, welcome to the home of arsenal Football Club,’ said the man on the public address system. But it felt like the home of Cologne.
at the end of it all, the visitors from Germany served up one of the noisiest and most passionate nights witnessed at the emirates.