The Football Association and the Football Supporters’ Association have launched investigations after England supporters complained of being treated like animals by police before the Nations League match in Greece on Thursday night.
Lee Carsley’s team were supported by 3,500 travelling fans but the atmosphere darkened outside the away end before kick-off. Supporters spoke of an inadequate turnstile operation and said riot police used shields and teargas to rearrange the queue. Images have been circulated of officers wearing gas masks.
“It’s been mental,” Jack Loftus, who travelled to the game from Telford, told PA Media. “They went to adjust the queue at the front to make it narrower and longer and just did it with force. They were pushing the crowd amongst the fence. They ultimately treat us like animals, then they’ll act the victim if there’s retaliation.”
The FSA’s Free Lions embassy posted on X: “Unfortunately, once again, we are having to ask England supporters to send in their witness accounts to ourselves regarding the situation outside of the Athens Olympic Stadium.
“Despite being told how things would operate in advance, to see the exact opposite occur in some cases, and to see the treatment of our fans by local police using shields and teargas to do something as simple as rearrange a queue, is so incredibly frustrating. On a night where we had a great result on the pitch, there is still clearly so much needed to do off it to ensure our supporters aren’t put in unjustifiably dangerous situations.”
A Free Lions representative called the situation unnecessary and added that it initially heated up as fans queued at the first ticket check point, with police using shields to rearrange the line. Hundreds of fans missed kick-off.
The FA is gathering information. “We are aware that some of our fans had a difficult experience outside the ground and are obtaining more information on exactly what happened,” an FA spokesperson said.
The England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) said: “FA security, ESTC staff, the UK Police and the FSA were all on hand to witness these incidents and will work together to document and address the issue further with the appropriate authorities.” It invited fans affected to share their experiences.
Uefa is awaiting further reports before deciding whether to take action. England moved top of Nations League Group B2 after a 3-0 win. They host the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
