By Adrian Bez
Published ,
Update
Problems arose at the Vélodrome on Saturday before England-Argentina. DR
DECRYPTION – Thousands of supporters were unable to enter the stadium before kick-off on Saturday evening in Marseille. The fault lies in flaws in communication, filtering and crowd management.
Special envoy to Marseille
God Save The King did not have the same flavor as usual on Saturday evening in the humid air of Marseille, before England-Argentina World Cup match. The curious cannon intoned by the children’s choir was not the only one responsible. The incomprehension was mainly due to the fact that the stands were still relatively sparse.
If Kate Middleton was there to sing the anthem, many of his compatriots were still missing. Same on the Argentinian side. Earlier in the day, the Irish and Romanians experienced the same mishap in Bordeaux, at the Matmut Atlantique stadium. For a first hiccup in this World Cup.
“Twenty minutes before kick-off, I was at the bottom of the stairs, it was all blocked. People were starting to get angry because they were going to miss the anthems.”
Pierre, resident of Marseille
It’s not for lack of unsold goods: all the seats at the Vélodrome stadium were gone. The doors opened at 7:00 p.m., two hours before kick-off. But thousands of supporters found themselves stuck near the stadium, in a monster funnel formed on the stairs of the René-Dufaure square in Montmirail…
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