Rangers and Frankfurt bid to improve ‘organisational’ standards in Europa League

Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt have joined forces to try to ensure there is no repeat of the “significant organisational issues” that marred the recent Europa League final between the two teams in Seville.

A shortage of food and water inside the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, as well as concerns surrounding policing and body searches, have been highlighted by supporters of both clubs since the showpiece match on Wednesday, May 18.

Officials from Rangers and Frankfurt liaised with Football Supporters Europe (FSE) last week to discuss the problems encountered at the ground and now plan to report back to UEFA and the Spanish authorities in an effort to ensure there is no repeat.

A statement from Rangers on Monday read: “Last Friday, representatives of Eintracht Frankfurt, Rangers FC and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) met to debrief and discuss several significant organisational issues during the recent UEFA Europa League final in Sevilla.

“These issues could easily have led to even more severe problems on the night and it was only thanks to the calmness and mutual respect of both sets of fans towards each other that there were not more severe injuries suffered.

“All three parties applaud the remarkable calmness of the two fan bases, given the situation they faced.

“Apart from the severe lack of food and – even more critically in the soaring temperatures – of water, there were several organisational problems around policing, body searches and beyond.

“Both clubs, as well as FSE, received a huge amount of complaints and witness statements from fans present in the stadium.

“All three parties will now work jointly to report back to UEFA and the local public authorities in Spain, and will make recommendations to ensure these problems can never occur again at a European final.

“Fans spend a lot of effort, time and money following their teams all over Europe and expect to be treated with respect and dignity while attending football games.

“This expectation was not met at all at the Europa League final in Sevilla.”