Champions League, Porto-Inter, chaos Inter tickets remain out

Despite the diplomatic work, some of the Nerazzurri supporters with regular tickets were unable to enter

From our correspondent Filippo Conticello

March 14th
– Porto (Portugal)

Not a questionable excess of zeal by the Portuguese policemen against the Italians, but a real diplomatic incident between two big European clubs. About a thousand Inter fans, all with regular tickets and after extensive reassurances, remained outside the gates of the Dragao stadium. The insult despite the fact that an agreement was reached between Inter and Porto in the afternoon, with the supervision of the local police. It had passed theimpasse with a series of meetings, common sense seemed to have prevailed to resolve an issue arising from the method of purchasing tickets and then linked to issues of public order: the reality turned out to be different. “We are close to the thousands of fans left out – Marotta said later -. It is a serious fact that must never happen again, we will make a complaint to UEFA to understand what happened: I saw children crying”.

The case

Many fans, who did not belong to organized groups and arrived at their own expense, had discovered in the morning that new restrictions imposed by the Portuguese authorities would have prevented them from entering: “the fault” of their purchase on Porto’s official channels and therefore not in the away sector. A legitimate decision, on the point of law according to the regulations, with the clear intention of not mixing in any way fans of contrary beliefs, but which seemed to be superseded by the agreement between all the parties in the afternoon: Inter had been guaranteed by the same Porto that in the end all their fans would have entered, except those who had bought into the hot curve of the Portuguese: too high a risk. Precisely in the light of these agreements, Inter was amazed by what happened in the long hours before the match: the fans, who came as a precaution without wearing anything black, were rejected in spite of everything. Not just a tactical rebound of the stewards from one turnstile to another and waiting in a narrow funnel: in the end, those who managed to get to the turnstile saw their coupon “deactivated” by the machine. At that point, when it was necessary to show the Italian document, everyone was rejected. Hard not to see bad faith. In short, only a fraction of the lucky ones in disguise managed to get his job. “We feel cheated, we have spent hundreds of euros for tickets, flights and overnight stays,” says Danilo, one of the many who remained in the balance for hours until the final hoax. He belongs to the Calabrian club of Rogliano: like many he has only seen the full back of Dragao.

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