Arsenal supporters feared they would be caught up in ‘another Hillsborough’ on a harrowing night at the San Siro, according to a report of European away days compiled by UK police.
Over 40 often-damning pages, grounds in Turkey, Italy and France have been highlighted as dangerous, while police in Spain have been branded confrontational and at-times violent.
However, the experience of Gunners fans at the iconic Italian venue for their Champions League clash with Inter Milan last November paints an incredibly stark picture.
One supporter highlighted a deeply troubling situation outside the ground before kick-off, with fans of both clubs penned in by high metal gates and many left ‘screaming and crying’ in a ‘two-way crush’ and unable to escape as they scrambled to gain entry.
The fan, a recently retired senior military officer, added that, after an entry gate was finally opened to ease the pressure, some were left ‘collapsed, lying on the ground, crying and visibly shaken’.
At one stage the situation was so bleak he told his son he would lift him out of the crush, so he could attempt to hold onto one of the fences above. ‘My arms were pinned to my side and my primary focus was on breathing and how I could lift my son up in the event people started to lose consciousness,’ he said, describing a ‘potentially fatal situation which felt a little like Hillsborough’.
Arsenal fans feared they would be be caught in ‘another Hillsborough’ when they faced Inter Milan at the San Siro last season
97 people died during a fatal crowd crush at Hillsborough in Sheffield some 36 years ago
‘Indeed, many fans who were stuck in the situation were commenting that this is probably what Hillsborough felt like,’ the fan added. ‘To me, this was completely unacceptable, and I would classify the situation as an extremely unsafe environment.’
The statement is one of many in the European Awaydays Fan Survey 2024/25, released by the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU).
The exhaustive dossier details the experiences of those who have travelled to the continent to watch their teams in European action, along with England matches, and grades each club on safety, security and service.
The report is the second from the UKFPU and is aimed at giving English supporters a voice and presenting a body of evidence which may result in positive change. It comes after the experiences of Liverpool fans at the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris, and similar problems encountered by Manchester City supporters at the same match a year later in Istanbul. Each supporter account has been verified by dedicated officers who are at the matches in question.
There are a wide range of responses, with clubs and stadiums in Germany and Austria singled out for praise. Officials in Ireland, Denmark and Finland are also hailed for their organisational skills and the tactics used by local police.
However, the same cannot be said of many well-known venues. Under a traffic-light system Inter Milan was given a red for safety, as was Juventus. Napoli and Roma have been given a similar grade following visits in previous seasons.
While Spanish police came under fire, experiences at Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad were mainly positive.
The European Awaydays Fan Survey was started after the experiences of Liverpool fans at the 2022 Champions League final
Juventus’ Allianz Stadium was one of a number of Italian stadiums to have been ranked poorly
Roma’s Stadio Olympico was another to receive bad feedback from supporters
Police holdbacks, where fans are often kept in grounds long after the final whistle, came in for criticism given they can often lead to missed transport connections and long walks in potentially dangerous environments. One Manchester United fan described being forced to take a police-escorted coach to Fenerbahce’s stadium five hours before kick-off before a two-hour holdback which led to a ‘potentially life-threatening situation of crushing against the locked doors’.
A disabled Villa fan revealed that they had been kicked in the head at Club Brugge thanks to a slippery floor and having to use three sets of stairs with no lifts. They described their experience in the away end as akin to being treated ‘like caged animals’. ‘It was a disgusting ground with disgusting facilities,’ they said.
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Those who came in for praise included RB Leipzig, where police were described as ‘friendly, with good humour and organised’, while a Liverpool fan hailed those at Girona, where a holdback was cancelled after intervention from their own dedicated officer and the use of additional toilets.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the head of the UKFPU, urged that lessons be learned.
‘There’s lots of examples where we need to manage getting fans into stadiums better,’ he said. ‘Sometimes it can be the fault of the fans, which we saw at Villa Park with Legia Warsaw supporters (a match which saw 46 Polish fans arrested), but we think it’s worth highlighting the issues.
‘Unless we document this, things won’t change. We are also seeing more like fan groups like Liverpool’s who meet with local police before big matches. That kind of engagement is really good practice.’
Mr Roberts will present the report at next month’s UEFA conference on safety and security.