Lyon complain about fan safety at Old Trafford, ironically given how Man Utd fans were treated in France

Add as preferred source on Google

Olympique Lyon have asked fans for testimonies of their experience at Old Trafford in a critically worded statement that is jam-packed with irony.

It was a chaotic night at Old Trafford for the Europa League quarter-final decider as Manchester United beat Lyon 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller.

Lyon came to Manchester with it all to play for after drawing the first-leg 2-2 the previous week.

United dominated the first-half, with Manuel Ugarte opening the scoring in the 11^th minute and Diogo Dalot grabbing a second goal on the brink of half time.

The game was turned on its head in the second half when goals from Corentin Tolisso and Nicholas Tagiafico forced extra time, before Lyon scored two more goals to take a shock lead in the game.

Then, in the space of seven minutes, United forced a memorable comeback following goals from Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire.

Unlike Lyon, United are banking on the Europa League as their only route into the Champions League next season. The Ligue 1 outfit can still achieve that by finishing their domestic campaign strongly.

Without winning the Europa League, the Red Devils won’t be playing European football next season.

That will be a huge blow to United fans who enjoy travelling across Europe to watch their football club. It also means less money for Ineos to strengthen Ruben Amorim’s squad in the summer.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also planning a new 100,000-capacity stadium to replace Old Trafford, which has been deemed controversial by the traditionalists.

Lyon complain over fan safety at Old Trafford

After the game, Lyon took to social media to ask fans to give testimonies about the treatment they received at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

This will be a concern to United as it will come under UEFA’s radar. It could lead to punishment or stricter guidelines in the future, however, it must be said that the statement issued by the French club read a bit ironically after the issues that emerged in Lyon last week.

It reads: “Dear supporters, Olympique Lyonnais sincerely thanks you for coming in such numbers to Manchester.

“However, we regret the conditions of access to Old Trafford which may have put you in danger.

“United by your side, we will carry your voice and we invite you to send us your testimonies via the following form.”

Whilst the Ligue 1 outfit do not go into any detail about the complications their fans faced in Manchester, it is worth noting that they haven’t passed comment on the problems United fans had to deal with in France for the first-leg.

MUST Independent Supporter Liaison Officer for matchgoing fans reacted to the statement with insight into the matter, writing: “We understand there were queues from 7pm caused by Lyon fans blocking the majority of the 6 turnstiles. Reports suggest some were trying to scan tickets already scanned and then refused to move when the ticket wouldn’t scan again, so stopping fans behind them getting in.”

For the reverse fixture, United fans were not only on the receiving end of a mandatory one-hour holdback, they were also tear-gassed to prevent access to the toilets.

United in Focus understands that Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) have had over 500 responses from fans attending the away game in Lyon, which is a huge response rate for this sort of survey.

Furthermore, United fans were left in a ridiculous situation ahead of the game in Lyon because local authorities in France put in place a number of restrictions for them.

For some reason or another, every United fan was told to collect a wristband from the Eurexpo Conference Centre between 5pm and kick-off. They were led to believe that without a wristband they would be forbidden entry into the stadium.

However, the pick-up for the wristband was over 10km away from the ground.

Matters were made worse when Metro issues across the city saw fans piling on to buses as an alternative transport.

It didn’t help that those fans were set to be tear-gassed later in the night.

Manchester United fans leave Old Trafford early on iconic night

It was a night to remember at Old Trafford, but some fans left the stadium early and missed all of the chaos.

United were trailling 4-2 at half-time of the extended period and a small number of fans left the ground, which meant they missed the biggest win of the season to secure a place in the Europa League semi-finals.

In the final three minutes, United forced a comeback with three goals from Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire.

Some fans who left early gathered outside the media entrance, where they could see the match on TV, and they watched Maguire’s dramatic winner at the very end only to celebrate under the Munich tunnel.

Although the fans in question will be gutted to have missed the action from the stands, it still led to joyous scenes outside the stadium on a night that brought a smile to the face of every United fan.

United will now prepared for a two-legged affair against Athletic Bilbao to fight for a place in the Europa League final. They also have six Premier League games remaining.