Manchester City supporters have contacted Level Playing Field regarding the unacceptable treatment of disabled fans at the UEFA Champions League Final, with some willing to have to have their experiences shared publicly.
Common themes across our accounts from individual supporters and our wider discussions with Manchester City Disabled Supporters’ Association (DSA), have been the lack of consideration for disabled fans’ transport, inappropriate terrain and inadequate stewarding.
Patrick Godfrey is the carer for his friend Barry Foy, who has used a wheelchair at football matches for the last two seasons. The pair attend every City match, including European games home and away.
Godfrey said: “We experienced a total disgusting 12 hours in the hands of UEFA, despite adhering to all of their requests and advice, around pre and post-match transportation from the centre of Istanbul and return journey.
“The bus to the stadium took almost two and a half hours to do 19 kilometres and when we finally arrived, there was a dirt track leading from where the bus had pulled up halfway up the hill.
“The loose building rubble surface had not even been rolled flat. I tried pushing the wheelchair forward and the front wheels just dug into rubble, nearly causing chair to fall forward, so the only way was for me to walk backwards dragging chair backwards for a good 500 metres to where the supposed adapted bus was waiting to take you to the stadium entrance. The bus had a wheelchair lift but depending on size of wheelchair would only fit one chair in at a time.
“Arriving at the stadium we were dropped off and told bus would be there after game had finished, then two small bottles of water were grabbed from the back of the chair as we entered and I explained they were needed for taking medication. We were told to buy it inside if we needed it, before passing a group of locals with fake lanyards and passes, selling bottles of water and at extortionate prices, along with pyro flares which were on UEFA’s banned list.”
He continued: “After the match, we returned to the instructed transport location, to be told the bus had taken four wheelchairs back and won’t be return now because of the amount of traffic, so I had to push Barry back to the car park of rubble, up a hill that was akin to reaching Everest base camp.
“Once back on the car park of rubble, it was absolute chaos. There was not a sign or steward in sight, and it was pitch black as I again had to drag the chair backwards.
“Eventually, I found a young steward telling people needing buses back to the city centre to keep walking down hill, so I set off dragging wheelchair backwards down through rubble, dodging in and out between taxis and minibuses – literally risking our lives.
“Then we saw another person in a wheelchair tip over and onto the floor. Thankfully, he was helped back into his chair. Another lad had his front wheel buckle, then had to be wheeled backwards just on the back wheels, along with numerous others on crutches and walking sticks, all heading down the hill as instructed.
“Finally, we got to the bottom to find no buses and only to be told by police officers that the buses were back up at the top of the hill, at the furthest point at the back of the car park.
“We had to set off back up the hill to locate the buses, again with people tipping out of chairs, seeing one lad literally crawling and another ending up having to be carried on someone’s back. We luckily arrived at the bus again lucky not to have been hit by cars and buses. We finally arrived back at our apartment at 4:20am.”
Another City fan, wheelchair user Stephen Lane attended with his niece Mel Lane. He said: “Once the bus arrived at the car park, we were told to get off and proceed to the fan park, which necessitated crossing a huge field which had been covered with what looked like builders’ rubble, but not properly levelled or compacted.
“It was obvious that this rubble had only just been deposited there as we could see all the diggers, excavators and dumper trucks on the far side of the ‘car park’. It was a nightmare for carers pushing wheelchairs as the front wheels kept, it was better to be dragged backwards.
“When leaving the fan park, a steward at the exit told us to go back to the ‘entrance’ as there was a disabled ‘exit’ there and we should get the disabled shuttle to the stadium. This was a nightmare. By this time the queues to get into the fan park had blocked the disabled exit and the stewards wouldn’t let us out.
“Following a frustrated exchange, they eventually cleared an area for us to squeeze through. Again we have to cross the field of rubble, however shuttle buses were nowhere to be seen. After about 30 minutes, one arrived, but could only carry two wheelchairs, which was completely unsuitable for the supporters requiring the service.”
He added: “Once we arrived at the Stadium, the driver told us to congregate at the same place after the game to be transported back to the car park for shuttles back to Yenikapi or the airports.
“After the match, shuttles nowhere to be seen until after an hour’s wait. Other City fans waiting kindly let us get on the first shuttle as we had to get straight to the airport for a 7am flight and the time was then 1:45am.
“We got back to the rubble car park, which was in darkness, and joined the queue for buses to SAW airport. When we got to the front, all hell broke loose. There were no coaches waiting and everybody made a dash across the field of rubble to find some.
“Mel had to drag me backwards across, between and behind the path of buses trying to depart. By now it was 2:30am and then I finally saw a bus destined for SAW, but it was already moving.
“I noticed the driver had his door open, so I shouted and Mel dragged me backwards at lightning speed across the car park to this coach. Thankfully the driver stopped and helped us on, but then out coach was jockeying for position with others to get onto the main road for almost three hours.
“We were incredibly lucky to make our flight, at the end of a complete shambles of a day.
“The preparation and organisation was none existent. The planning for disabled supporters was disgraceful. Mel and other carers deserve the highest praise for making sure we got through it safely.”
Ellis Palmer was another wheelchair user in Istanbul to cheer on Manchester City.
“The metro system was fantastic, incredibly clean and step-free. Unfortunately, UEFA advised that Manchester City fans could not use the system, even though it was a step-free route to the ground,” Palmer recounted.
“By comparison, the route from the bus to the fan park can best be described as “independently impassable rubble”. It was an incredibly uneven and inconsistent surface that I even struggled to get over with my mother’s help. If I had stopped at any point, it would have been difficult – nigh on impossible – to restart without risking damage to my wheelchair.
“There was no wayfinding assistance from the bus to the fan park. This meant that the entrance to the fan park was something of a log-jam, with fans ignoring the fact I was in the queue because I was out of their eyeline and pushing past me in their attempt to get in. There was minimal crowd control at the ticket checking barrier, if any at all.
He continued: “No free tap water or drinking water stations were provided inside or outside the stadium. Fans who needed water, were made to pay for squishy cartons which were very inaccessible.
“We returned to the fan park after the match, across a narrow uneven passageway thronged with hundreds of ambulant fans not really looking where they were going and with zero access stewarding or attempts at crowd-control by the authorities.
“Next came the extremely dangerous gravel again – only this time, it was pitch-black too, so it was even more difficult to work out where you were going safely.
“Here’s a moment I will never forget and it is very poignant to the shambolic nature of the way things were run by UEFA. We were making our way over this dangerous gravel in the pitch black towards a free-for-all of buses and coaches back to the city and the airport with no access provision in sight.
“My mother, who was struggling to help me with my electric wheelchair through the darkness and the gravel, spotted some clearly marked “mobility marshals” and approached them calmly to ask for guidance and support. Rather than the help and guidance she was expecting from these three young blokes, she was shouted at and told to: “Go away!”
“After 15 minutes of trudging through snaking traffic in the bus park, trying to find a bus with an accessible space on it back to Yenikapi’s fan park, on gravel that I was convinced at any moment would break my wheelchair and leave me stranded, a kindly taxi driver convinced a bus driver to lower down the ramp and let me on.
“The traffic control to support those using the public transport that UEFA had laid on was non-existent and so getting back into the city was carnage.
“I would urge UEFA to consider the holistic accessibility of a city (street infrastructure, surfaces in and around fan parks, and having staff dedicated and properly trained to assist disabled supporters at fan parks and stadiums) when looking at potential candidate cities for future Champions League finals.”
These events tarnished what should have been a purely joyous occasion for all Manchester City supporters who had made the journey to support their team. Level Playing Field will continue discussions with Manchester City DSA and has written to UEFA to demand accountability for the failures at Saturday’s final.
Level Playing Field supports disabled sports fans in England and Wales. Disabled supporters based outside of England and Wales can contact Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE), in relation to sporting events held outside of England and Wales.