Across Europe, the romance of away travel, friends, foreign bars and the thrill of following your team into hostile territory is colliding with a darker reality.
Recent seasons have seen a string of alarming security failures at high‑profile fixtures, leaving supporters asking whether the continent’s biggest matches are becoming more dangerous for travelling fans.
A catalogue of failures
The 2022 Champions League final in Paris was described as a “near mass‑fatality catastrophe”, a stark warning about the consequences of poor planning.
Since then, supporters of clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle have publicly condemned policing and stewarding in cities including Istanbul, Lyon and Marseille.
This season even saw fans barred from some Champions League away fixtures amid what officials called “extremely worrying” security trends.
What fans are facing
Travelling supporters report a pattern of degrading and sometimes dangerous treatment. Common complaints include:
• Overly aggressive policing that treats fans as a threat rather than customers.
• Crushing at entry and exit points caused by locked gates and poor crowd flow.
• Lack of toilet access during long holds and transfers.
• Invasive body searches and confiscation of essential items.
• Seizure of power banks and medication, leaving vulnerable fans exposed.
These are not isolated irritations; they are systemic failures that can escalate into life‑threatening situations when panic spreads through tightly packed crowds.
Voices from the Road
First‑hand accounts paint a patchwork of experiences — from efficient, low‑key operations to scenes of chaos and humiliation.
• Gemma Manns, a Chelsea fan in Naples, described being left vulnerable after the match when police protection vanished and fans were packed onto buses with open doors.
• Jude Aston, a wheelchair user in Istanbul, recounted being locked inside a caged enclosure with limited visibility and no access to a personal assistant for long stretches — a setup she called claustrophobic and unsafe.
• Jane Boland, who travelled to Marseille, said fans were held for hours in overcrowded zones with poor toilet access and painful exits that left supporters feeling treated “like cattle.”
• Other fans reported long, dark marches through forests, locked gates that delayed entry until minutes before kick‑off, and confiscated chargers that left them powerless in emergencies.
• Yet some trips, like a recent visit to Bodo, Norway, were praised for calm, friendly handling; a reminder that good practice still exists.
Security for European fixtures is stitched together by host clubs, local authorities, national governments and UEFA, producing wildly different outcomes depending on local policy, infrastructure and the match context.
Ronan Evain of Football Supporters Europe warns that some countries are backsliding and that repeat offenders show little capacity to host games in acceptable conditions. Small humiliations — forced early arrivals, confiscated lip balm, hours without toilets can quickly become life‑threatening when combined with poor crowd control.
Away travel is part of football’s lifeblood: it builds community, fuels club culture and drives local economies. When supporters are treated as a security problem rather than customers and citizens, the sport loses more than comfort; it risks lives. It takes only a few panicked moments in a badly managed crowd for tragedy to unfold.
The road ahead
Fans, clubs and governing bodies face a choice: accept a fractured, inconsistent approach to safety, or demand standards that protect dignity and life.
The solutions are practical; better infrastructure, smarter crowd flows, humane policing and clear, consistent policies on what items can be carried into stadiums. Until those changes are universal, the dream of a carefree European away trip will remain fragile for many supporters.
