England supporters have expressed deep concerns ahead of England’s fixture against Italy in Naples on Thursday night, with some considering missing the match over fears for their safety.
There were worries expressed when England’s first European Championship qualifier was announced as being held in Naples, fears that have hardly abated after Napoli supporters were banned from travelling to away games for two months in January and following violent skirmishes with Eintracht Frankfurt fans last week.
England supporters have only been issued with electronic tickets for the fixture, an unusual occurrence for a non-tournament match. Customarily, the FA organises a ticket collection point in the city centre where each England away game is based.
According to information published on the England team’s official website, the decision not to operate the usual ticket distribution centre has been made due to circumstances beyond the FA’s control and, for future matches, the usual collection points will be used.
Supporters who i spoke to believe that the measure has been taken to avoid large numbers of England supporters congregating in one place and thus becoming a target for attacks from Napoli ultras. An organised match between England supporters and their Italian counterparts, scheduled to take place on the day of the game, has been cancelled after threats were received by email.
To attempt to ensure the safety of England supporters, Italian police are strongly advising them to use locally organised coaches that will leave the Naples Maritime Museum, in the port area of Naples, at 4pm on Thursday. However, the timing of those coaches (hours before the game) and the fact that many England fans have booked hotels near to the stadium will mean that some make their way on foot, on public transport or in taxis.
As of Tuesday evening, however, there was no concrete plan in place for supporters to leave the stadium. The latest messaging reads that “We have also requested that the same service be provided for supporters after the game to take them back into the city, or a convenient destination, should it be required. This is, currently, still to be confirmed by our hosts. We hope to inform supporters regarding this service in advance of match day.”
The uncertainty over transport is only part of the problem. One England supporter who spoke to i confided that he was likely to miss the game despite having a match ticket due to fears of safety on the day of the game in Naples, uncertainty over what might happen after the match and the prospect of spending four hours in the Diego Armando Maradona stadium before the game.
England defender Ben Chilwell revealed on Wednesday that he has family and friends attending the match and that the players have worked together to ensure that their loved ones can remain as safe as possible.
“I have friends and family going out there,” Chilwell explained. “The main thing is making sure that my friends, family and supporters and whoever is going out there feels safe. Of course, it is important that Italian fans also feel safe. That’s the main thing we have to take from this is that everyone ultimately feels safe.
“[As players] we work together on these things. I wasn’t at the World Cup, but I know the families worked on that there, got a lot closer and shared hotels and things like that. That’s the sort of conversation that I think we’ll have over the next day or so.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/XZpxA9M
Post a Comment