Champions League that was played in Istanbul has been described as imperfect by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
Recent reports have it that fans complained of walking distances along busy roads, queuing for hours for transport to and from the stadium.
UEFA previously apologized to fans after Liverpool fans were detained and also teargassed before last year’s Champions League in Paris.
Ceferin accepted problems had arisen in Turkey that needed to be addressed, at the opening of the four-day European Football Fans Congress in Manchester.
Aleksander Ceferin said: “Given what some of you experienced recently, I would understand if I got a cold reception tonight.”
“We are well aware that in Istanbul not everything was perfect. I am certainly not playing down the problems encountered by some.”
“But let us continue working together to improve what can we improve.”
“I’m thinking in particular transport links to and from stadium, the hosting of the stadium supporters and access to water and toilets for everyone.”
Football Supporters Europe is currently collecting fan accounts from the Champions League in Istanbul to present a report to UEFA.
Ceferin also confirmed that Uefa’s other major finals in the men’s and women’s games were successful without any issues.
He also added that the showpieces in 2024 – when Wembley will host the Champions League final and Germany the European Championships – will be a “unique experience” for fans.
What Happened At The Champions League Final?
The Champions League final was originally scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheduled hosts for subsequent finals were shifted back a year, and the Allianz Arena in Munich was assigned the 2023 final.
When the 2021 final, which had been scheduled to be played in Istanbul, also had to be relocated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 final was given to Istanbul instead, and Munich received the 2025 final.
Manchester City fans were asked to make their way to Ataturk Stadium for the June 10th Champions League final nine hours before kick off.
This was as a result of UEFA trying to avoid a repeat of the dangerous scenes that marred last year’s showpiece.
The Ataturk Stadium is more than an hour west of central Istanbul and, with public transport limited, officials are laying on hundreds of shuttle buses departing from 1pm with a fanzone selling food and beer outside the stadium for ticketholders open from 2pm.
Fans were warned to arrive as early as possible but tensions remained between the governing body, organising committee and local police despite officers agreeing to relax a number of rules that apply to domestic fixtures – including a ban on rainbow flags and any clothing displaying the word “ultra.”
City and Inter fans were met by three security checkpoints on their way into the stadium – the first was a ticket activation (fans had their phone’s Bluetooth turned on), and followed by body searches carried out by police and finally a separate search by a private security firm.
