Kieran Maguire slams Uefa for Man City ‘chaos’ – ‘fans come last’
Uefa should reconsider how they organise major European finals after Man City fans faced ‘chaos’ in the Champions League.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that ‘fans come last’ in Uefa’s priority list.
City completed a historic treble this season by capping off their 2022/23 season with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
The match was hosted in Istanbul’s 72,000-capacity Ataturk Olympic stadium, but according to the Daily Mail fans faced ‘organised chaos’ after complaints poured in over travel issues and a lack of facilities.
Uefa faced similar criticism in the 2022 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, with British fans initially blamed for a delay to the game’s kick-off.
Maguire believes Uefa need to consider fan welfare more when choosing host cities, but added that politics and commercial interests get in the way.
“Uefa’s main focus as far as its relationship with stakeholders is concerned is that making sure that sponsors and their friends are happy,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“The regular fans come way down the list in terms of Uefa’s priorities.
“In an ideal world they should take this into consideration in terms of fan welfare when it comes to the awarding of European tournament finals.
“But there are a lot politics involved in Uefa football and as a consequence the interest of fans comes last in their list of priorities.“
In other news, Man City ready to accept £70m Bernardo Silva offer