The IFA have approached UEFA after the Northern Ireland supporters club alleged they had been subjected to unacceptable treatment at their away UEFA Nations League game in Bulgaria this weekend.
Michael O’Neill’s side travelled to Plovdiv, the second city of Bulgaria, for Sunday’s Nations League C clash, having gotten their campaign off to a winning start last Thursday in Belfast against Luxembourg.
Ultimately, Bulgaria won out through a first-half goal from captain Kiril Despodov.
However, the Northern Ireland fans in the stands had an even worse experience of Plovdiv than the team on the pitch. The chairman of the Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs (AONISC) Gary McAllister initially made a public complaint earlier this week about the treatment of the team’s fans, saying that one fan had ended up hospitalised after a “violent attack” in the city.
Since that initial statement, further details have come to light, with the IFA approaching UEFA to clarify what had brought about Sunday night’s issues.
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Northern Ireland fans allegedly encountered ‘violent attacks’ on Bulgaria away day
AONISC chairman Gary McAllister made the original complaints of issues in Plovdiv in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s Nations League game.
McAllister alleged that Northern Ireland fans had been denied access to their “basic rights of water and toilet facilities” after being kept in their section of the Hristo Botev Stadium.
“It also created a serious safety issue,” McAllister said, “We contacted Irish FA staff, who in turn spoke to the UEFA delegate, and eventually, the gates were opened. Some of our fans were also subjected to violent attack as they made their way back to the city centre, and one fan was hospitalised.”
The IFA would soon release a statement, saying that they had approached UEFA to indicate their dissatisfaction with the treatment of Northern Ireland fans in Bulgaria.
In light of the reports from Plovdiv, we have engaged with UEFA. pic.twitter.com/7OkgXHbxXu
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) September 9, 2024
The IFA statement read,
On arrival back in Belfast today, we have engaged with UEFA at a senior level to indicate that our fans do not have the history or profile which suggests they deserve the type of treatment that has been reported.
We expect an update in due course and want to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support.
Northern Ireland fans have earned plaudits for their conduct on away days in previous years. Famously, they were awarded the Medal of the City of Paris alongside Republic of Ireland supporters for the two groups’ exceptional conduct and “exemplary sportsmanship” at EURO 2016.
Gary McAllister would go into further detail on the dire events of Plovdiv while speaking to BBC Radio Ulster on Tuesday morning.
McAllister said that his near-three decades worth of following the national team had not seen a worse away day, and explained the negligence of the domestic police force.
As someone who has travelled watching Northern Ireland for 27 years, I have to say that was the worst experience.
In a number of countries, the police have been happy to put on a shuttle bus service where they are free or fans can buy tickets for and they declined to do that.
The Bulgarian FA had to modify the agreed route for N.I. fans to the stadium after fan representatives raised concerns. It has been reported that they also turned down the offer of PSNI help—”On most occasions, the Police Service of Northern Ireland would be invited to travel, and that’s done through the UK Football policing unit in London,” says McAllister.
McAllister would finally claim that an elderly Northern Irish fan had been “pushed toward the stairs” after asking to use a lift due to difficulty walking.
It remains to be seen what sort of response UEFA will have to the alleged trouble experienced by Northern Ireland supporters in Plovdiv.
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