It has been reported that there was a shortage of bottled water at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium during the Europa League final on Wednesday.
That’s a clear health and safety issue and should be addressed as a matter of urgency.
UEFA have quite rightly apologised for the deficiencies at the venue.
A statement from Spanish club Sevilla FC, who were hosting the fixture, issued the following statement:
“The club tried to replenish the water at the bars, but the fans literally assaulted the employees who were in charge of replenishing before the bottles as they tried to reach the bars, then finally it was necessary to close them.
“Fans were able to drink drinking water from the taps in the toilets.
“The taps stopped working when all the taps in the stadium were opened at the same time, so the water pump could not serve all of them at the same time. After a few minutes the service was restored till the end of the match.”
Let’s have that one more time:
“The club tried to replenish the water at the bars, but the fans literally assaulted the employees who were in charge of replenishing before the bottles as they tried to reach the bars…”
Unfortunately, the alleged assailants escaped arrest.
Consequently, we do not know which end of Stamford Bridge they usually watch Chelsea.
Thankfully, this lot appears to be fully hydrated and in fine voice.
Tomorrow sees Sevco return to Hampden to participate in a Scottish Cup Final.
It didn’t end well in 2016 when the basket of assets faced another team from Edinburgh, as the featured image shows.
In the immediate aftermath of that dignified performance art, the Stenography Corps obediently regurgitated the Orwellian narrative that every Sevco player had been assaulted by Hibernian fans.
The whole sorry saga encapsulated much of what ails Planet Fitba:
A dysfunctional quartet of the Ibrox klanbase, the Brethern in the Blue Room, the appeasers at Hampden and the local media.
Of course, the final tomorrow will be massively overshadowed by what happened in Spain on Wednesday.
Victory in Seville would have solved a lot of problems for the Sevco High Command so Aaron Ramsey take a bow.
The entire denouement in Seville was Shakespearean.
As a barrack-room body language expert, I thought that the Welshman from Juve looked like the Prince of Denmark as he stepped up to the spot.
Indecision was his fatal flaw.
Failure to win the Europa League final has massively dented Sevco’s finances.
In the years to come, Mr Ramsey can perhaps comfort himself with a few words from Othello:
“I have done the State some service; they know’t. No more of that.”
Certainly, the good guys on Planet Fitba owe him a large one.
He will also have more than a few friends in Frankfurt.
These scenes from the beam back in Germany are rather wonderful.
Of course, there was no such event at Ibrox.
My information is that the Sevco High Command did look at the proposal to have one at the stadium John Brown played for.
Although it would have generated much-needed funds, I’m led to believe that some sages voices in Blue Room feared outbreaks of Unsurpassed Dignity among their klanbase.
Especially if Gio’s men were vanquished in Spain.
I can’t think why they reached that conclusion.
Can you dear reader?
Utterly baffling given that they have just come back from Spain proudly holding aloft the No Riot Cup.
Now, I hope that there isn’t anything in the water around Mount Florida that makes them fall off the wagon tomorrow.
The poor dears…
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“UEFA have quite rightly apologised”
Have they?
The link is to a BBC Report, there are no direct quotes (*) and there’s nothing on the UEFA website.
This seems to originate from a fantasist Sevco blogger (sample “Barry McKay is better than Kieran Tierney and is worth £20m” etc) who posted a blank piece of paper with a few lines of apology on it but suspiciously without out any indication of who it had come from.
(*) There was, of course, direct quotes regarding the attacks on harassed kiosk staff forcing them to close thus exacerbating a bad situation.
Equally, of course, there was no comment nor condemnation of this from the, no doubt staunch, BBC reporter.
I did see some laughable claims that (the) people were breaking into the kiosks to liberate water from the kiosks to slake the thirst of hungry bears for free.
Whereas, I can quite believe there was a lot of robbing hoods, I doubt there were any Robin Hoods.
There is vieods from Sec=vco bloggers where the Spanish police were shutting bars as soon as the Klan started gathering. not just in Seville but all over the costa del sol and beyond.
I would like to thank the team and especially the fans for the joy and laughs they have given us.
It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact they knew it was no messing about Spanish Police they were dealing with and not the brethren back home?
Nothing like a wee dose of repercussions to change your ways eh?
Bizarre reporting in media praising a fan base for not rioting .
It looks more as if the Spanish Police were well aware of their reputation and had a show of force to make them think twice .
Unfortunately the Police in Scotland are only to willing to accommodate them ,even escorting them through the streets as they spew their bile And what is it with the so called Union Bears and the black clothing looking a right bunch of fascists .
Sadly this is Scotland 2022 whereby for whatever reason the media report only what they are told regards Rangers 2012
It can only be blind loyalty or more likely fear and threats .
And we know they are not afraid to go down that path when needed
BUT, can you imagine if sevco had actually won the cup?!
My God, it would be absolutely unbearable.
The SMSM would be bombarding us non-stop with all sorts of nonsense, and ever more positive/fabricated PR about the dodgy Ibrox club.
…and that’s before the open-top bus parade!
Thank you, thank you, Eintracht Frankfurt!
(And thank you Agent Ramsey too. 🙂 )
Our feckless media have reported that Sevco fans were ‘fantastic’ in Seville. Should they actually recieve plaudits for not destroying that fine city? The salivating media have conveniently remained shtum about stadium employees being attacked. If nothing else they’re always predictable.
What a journey, From Liquidation to Dehydration
‘How was your trip away?’
‘Fantsstic, I didn’t get arrested!’
‘Well done, I’m so proud of you’.
In 2003 police took bottles of water off my son and I as we were entering the stadium for the Celtic-Porto match. Despite the heat there was no water available from the kiosks. No staff were assaulted or threatened and nothing was mentioned in the Scottish media. Funny that!
Correct. After we left the game in 2003,we had to drive to a petrol station for supplies. BTW,is it true that Andrex & Pepti-Bismol are fighting it out over who will be Sevco’s new sponsor?
Phil, there is an article in the Daily Ranger claiming the Europa run has brought in record revenues to Ibrox, so much so that there will be no need to sell any players in the summer window.
What do you make of that?