Lille vs Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[artvandelay]

Really easy that. Lots of time and space and we managed it well without ever being threatened. Should have been two nil and put to bed.

Small hold back after, but treated to McGinn doing sprints with a coach. Absolutely brilliant to have his big arse back.

Some grief with the police before the game for the right hand side of the away end, with stewards blocking off a small gate at the top of the stairs. Unnecessary given your tickets had been checked outside twice. French police waded in with batons and gas.

(I said left, I meant right.)

I didnt see the trouble but they blocked those gates at the top of the stairs to make sure people go in the right section. So they let me through one of those gates to get to 21. The stairs led to two sections.

Except there were no signs or information for what gate to go to. In fact the only sign for the J sections was in the I section. Rather than stepping in lower down the stairs and directing people, they let people just get bounced at the ‘wrong’ entrance. Which in turn caused the crush.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Fair few vids of the treatment of fans including this one

https://x.com/bikesswest/status/2032221030362857572

Didn't encounter any of that before the game but we did make an extra effort to get there early.

Had a few problems after the game trying to reach the point where our taxi was waiting for us....police simply wouldn't let us through, just for the sake of it. We walked away and returned 5 minutes later....police  were just getting into their wagon and leaving...so we were able to do our three minute stroll to our pick up point! No issues, no marauding fans, nothing dangerous, so why not let us through in the first place? Because we're football fans!?
We've had a lot of that kind of stuff in Europe, Warsaw probably being the worst.
Sorry for those who had to put up with shit, especially disabled and old farts like me!

[Crown Hill]

Really easy that. Lots of time and space and we managed it well without ever being threatened. Should have been two nil and put to bed.

Small hold back after, but treated to McGinn doing sprints with a coach. Absolutely brilliant to have his big arse back.

Some grief with the police before the game for the right hand side of the away end, with stewards blocking off a small gate at the top of the stairs. Unnecessary given your tickets had been checked outside twice. French police waded in with batons and gas.

(I said left, I meant right.)

I didnt see the trouble but they blocked those gates at the top of the stairs to make sure people go in the right section. So they let me through one of those gates to get to 21. The stairs led to two sections.

Except there were no signs or information for what gate to go to. In fact the only sign for the J sections was in the I section. Rather than stepping in lower down the stairs and directing people, they let people just get bounced at the ‘wrong’ entrance. Which in turn caused the crush.

I must have been lucky where I was then in J21 because I followed signs all the way from the turnstile. That’s how I know those gates at the top of the stairs were to separate the two sections covered by the stairs. I did get there fairly early and that helped. As I said earlier there were a lot of tanked up supporters trying to gatecrash the food and drink queue and then deciding to sit where they wanted in the ground.

It definitely could have been better handled!

[Ads]

You reckon?

[Crown Hill]

Yep

[artvandelay]

Really easy that. Lots of time and space and we managed it well without ever being threatened. Should have been two nil and put to bed.

Small hold back after, but treated to McGinn doing sprints with a coach. Absolutely brilliant to have his big arse back.

Some grief with the police before the game for the right hand side of the away end, with stewards blocking off a small gate at the top of the stairs. Unnecessary given your tickets had been checked outside twice. French police waded in with batons and gas.

(I said left, I meant right.)

I didnt see the trouble but they blocked those gates at the top of the stairs to make sure people go in the right section. So they let me through one of those gates to get to 21. The stairs led to two sections.

Except there were no signs or information for what gate to go to. In fact the only sign for the J sections was in the I section. Rather than stepping in lower down the stairs and directing people, they let people just get bounced at the ‘wrong’ entrance. Which in turn caused the crush.

I must have been lucky where I was then in J21 because I followed signs all the way from the turnstile. That’s how I know those gates at the top of the stairs were to separate the two sections covered by the stairs. I did get there fairly early and that helped. As I said earlier there were a lot of tanked up supporters trying to gatecrash the food and drink queue and then deciding to sit where they wanted in the ground.

It definitely could have been better handled!

Yes J and I were both at the top of the stairs. You were lucky enough to go to the correct one when nobody else was there. Look at all the videos, it’s very clear that there’s no signage whatsoever. If there was then why would people have ended up in a crush at just one of the entrances?