UEFA apology to Rangers fans for Seville nightmare after issuing club multiple fines this season
UEFA has apologised to Rangers fans who were left without water and food during the Europa League final, the BBC has reported.
Despite temperatures in Seville remaining extremely high deep into the night on Wednesday (18 May), drinks kiosks at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium ran out early.
Supporters were left to scavenge for discarded bottles in order to drink from the taps in the toilets, which themselves then stopped working for a time.
Sevilla, the club which calls the ground home, claimed that demand had far exceeded expectation, and said staff were “literally assaulted” by fans when attempting to replenish stocks, forcing them to close.
The statement from UEFA said, via the BBC: “Even though the quantity of food and beverages planned by concessionaires was much bigger than what is usually served during a domestic sold out match at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, it still was not enough to meet the extraordinary demand of the day and Uefa wishes to sincerely apologise to fans for the inconvenience created.”
The Gers lost 5-4 on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt after drawing 1-1 across 120-minutes, with Aaron Ramsey the only player to miss in the shoot-out.
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It seems unbelievable that a showpiece final, held in a southern Spanish city in May, would run out of a basic human necessity like water.
Of all the things that should have been available in abundance considering the danger it poses to run out, water should be at the top of the list.
Plenty of suspicion was held towards travelling Light Blues fans ahead of the week, and to a certain extent that was justified.
But after what Graham Spiers called a “very appealing” showing from the Gers support, with the few arrests in the city apparently of Frankfurt fans, it appears they did themselves pretty proud.
They clearly should not have been put in the position of having to scrounge for water in such heat though.
UEFA issued the club multiple fines for fan behaviour along the run through the competition, with The Times reporting a fifth penalty in April before subsequent ones home and away against Braga (Daily Record & Daily Record).
So it should not go unnoticed that the tables had turned this time and it was in fact the authorities that dropped the ball for the final.
In other Rangers news, budget airline Ryanair has piled on and trolled Bears supporters over the crushing defeat.