I fulfilled a childhood dream as I headed to the world-famous San Siro Stadium to watch Arsenal play against Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Despite Arsenal losing 1-0 in a dominant yet frustrating display, watching my team compete against one of the biggest clubs in the world, at one of the biggest stadiums, was an experience that should have been cherished regardless.
However, my excitement about going to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium quickly disappeared as I attempted to actually enter the ground, with the Champions League dream quickly becoming a nightmare through no fault of any Arsenal fan.
Heavy-handed and chaotic stewarding and policing at football grounds is something most fans will have dealt with at any point, but having been to matches across the globe, this was by far the worst I have ever encountered.
Arsenal fans faced nightmare when entering San Siro Stadium
After a metro journey to the ground with multiple delays as Arsenal fans headed from the Navigli Canals to the area of San Siro, we quickly realised that the station we departed at was still a significant walk to the ground.
Upon arrival, Arsenal fans faced no segregation from the home support, and all headed towards block 10, the designated entrance for the visiting fans.
However, hundreds of fans, both home and away, found themselves stuck as the stadium officials closed the gate leading to block 10. People were packed in tightly, and some were even told to turn around and go to a different entrance designated for home fans – which was simply wrong.
Despite arriving well over an hour before kick-off, it took a long time to get through the first gate, only to then be penned in between more gates, with a serious danger of overcrowding.
Arsenal fans were frustrated, but they caused no problems as they were simply following instructions from the stadium officials. I found myself crammed in between the gates, separated from my group for over 25 minutes, with kick-off fast approaching.
When the officials finally opened the gates, the rush to get through resulted in a few minor injuries, and fans then had to go through the turnstiles. The shambolic organisation then meant that very few people were searched, with few ticket checks or directions, before finally being allowed in to make the long walk up the famous spiral ramp.
This meant that despite heading to the ground nearly three hours before the start of the game, a lot of fans including myself missed kick-off, and it was all down to the shambolic way in which the Inter Milan officials treated the Arsenal fans with pure disdain.
Arsenal fans treated poorly when exiting San Siro
Leaving the ground was not much more enjoyable than entering it. After the 1-0 defeat, fans were kept in a lock-in for around 40 minutes – a standard, but still frustrating measure.
The next problem then came about as fans heading down the spiral steps were again halted by the officials and police. The clock ticked beyond midnight, and thousands were still at a complete standstill, in the staircase, with no access to water or toilet facilities.
Fans were then shepherded through to the metro, in which there was a scramble to be one of the first 400 people through the gates, with countdown screens encouraging people to rush through, and this again led to separation within our group.
One metro then took fans somewhat closer to the city, before everyone had to then make another journey from there to their respective accommodations, with the clock going past 1.30am by the time we reached our destination.
All of this treatment led to a lot of frustration amongst the Arsenal fans, who were subjected to long, exhausting delays when simply trying to support their team.
This came after alcohol bans were announced across the city of Milan for matchday, but whilst a lot of these were unenforced, it shows the attitude of the host club and city.
They went out of their way to make things difficult for the visiting supporters, and this put huge dampeners on what should have been a purely exciting day to watch two top-class sides in action in one of the most historic stadiums in the world.
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