UEFA was labelled ‘a shambles’ once again as fans faced chaos, a fire and five mile walks amid miles of stranded cars to get to a heavily-policed Ataturk Olympic stadium, in Istanbul.
Jubilant City fans then faced a six hour walk back to Istanbul when there was no post-match transport available.
Videos of desperate Manchester City supporters walking and jogging along the motorway to the stadium were being shared on social media as traffic congestion raised fears thousands would miss kick off and the biggest club match in world football would be delayed.
Taxi drivers were charging £130 for a normal £10 fare from downtown Istanbul to the stadium as UEFA advised fans to get to the match at least four hours before kick-off, yet avoid using the dangerously overwhelmed Metro service.
Instead, they were directed to official UEFA shuttle buses. Queues of over two hours were reported to get on the vehicles, which started leaving the city centre nine hours before the match was due to start at 10pm local time.
Many coaches, like the over-priced taxis, were brought to a standstill by traffic. That forced them to drop fans on the roadside to make the majority of the journey on foot. in baking heat, and take their chances walking through the erratic flow of motorway traffic.
Supporters experienced more bottlenecks around the stadium amid strict security checks amid fears ticketless fans were trying to gain access.
More large queues formed to get through two levels of police checks outside the stadium metro station and the approaches to the ground as tickets were checked and bags searched for alcohol.
The stadium surroundings were well populated by riot police and officers on horseback and other lawmen with police dogs.
It conjured up memories of what Liverpool fans experienced only 12 months ago when French police and UEFA’s crowd control in Paris was deemed to have narrowly avoided “a mass fatality catastrophe” by an independent commission.
The chaotic scenes in Turkey were heightened by clouds of billowing smoke rising above the Ataturk from a huge factory fire nearby the ground.
More social media videos captured the smoke drifting towards the football as numerous fire engines tried to tame the flames less than an hour before kick-off.
City’s coach, meanwhile, was stuck in traffic and finally arrived for their pre-match preparations much later than intended. At least Pep Guardiola’s opposition did not benefit from the City setback as Inter’s bus also arrived late.
There were further scenes of disarray long after the final whistle when there was a lack of transport to get supporters back to the City centre.
Freelance journalist Alex Brotherton tweeted: “What a way to put a dampener on an incredible evening – 30,000 City fans emerge from the Atatürk at 1am local time to find no shuttle buses back to the city centre. It’s a six hour walk to Istanbul. You lot are f*****g useless @UEFA.”
