Young children were physically intimidated and a dozen Australians refused entry at yesterday’s World Cup qualifier match in Kyrgyzstan, an Australian supporter has told The Guardian.
Pablo Bateson is one of the organisers of the Australian football team’s travelling supporters’ group. He says what happened getting into yesterday’s match was the worst experience he has had in years of following the team around the world.
“There were really young kids - six or seven year olds with their parents - being pushed around,” he says. “The way some of the fans were manhandled by over-enthusiastic home supporters, police, security, it was very tense and it just about got out of hand.”
He says there was no provision for Australian fans to enter the ground safely, there was a stand-off style situation with the police as they tried to enter and the group was split in two.
“We were trying to convince them we have tickets, but it took an awful lot. Then when they accepted there was a right for entry, there were local fans and some other really strange people trying to prevent us from getting around the barrier and into the area the police were trying to channel us into.”
Security was heavy-handed getting into the venue, and organisation was chaotic. Some people had their bags searched repeatedly, with police continually stopping supporters as they made their way from the entrance to their seats.
Around a dozen supporters - some who had travelled from Melbourne - were refused entry on the grounds that the match was a sell-out, Bateson says. They all held valid tickets. One woman was even refused re-entry after going outside to use the stadium’s portable toilets.
The stadium’s official capacity is 18,000 but many people say the number in attendance was far greater. Home fans were seen jumping the fences to get in, and dozens of people scaled the ground’s light towers - and to quite dizzying heights - to watch the match.
Bateson says several hundred home supporters were allowed to rush into the away section during the first half, despite concerns it was about to get out of hand. “You just don’t do that,” he says. “I’ve never had that before at an away game.” The pleas of expats - done in the local language - were ignored.
Australian parents with children at the game left at half-time due to safety concerns. “You expect the unexpected ... but I think in the end it was all too much.”
David McArdle, a Scot based in Bishkek who blogs about football in Central Asia, gave up trying to get into the ground due to the dangerous conditions.
“I’ve been to Old Firm matches in Glasgow, England versus Scotland, and matches all over Europe, the Caucasus and the Balkans, but I have never felt such a dangerous and anarchic atmosphere as I did that evening.
“To quell the crowds, I saw several of the security personnel use their police batons liberally, while the ubiquitous bribing was on full display, as some police and security guards were allowing people past the barriers for as little as 100 som (1 GDP), thus exacerbating the situation significantly.
“For us, we all decided unanimously that it simply wasn’t worth it - with now thousands climbing over the porous fences into the stadium, and found refuge in a little bar across the stadium, where we ordered several cold beers and watched an otherwise impressive Kyrgyzstan performance, on - but sadly not off - the pitch.”
After the game, the Australian team manager told the travelling fans to stay in their section while the crowds dispersed, as there was “a lot of nasty stuff going on outside...it was bordering on riotous”. However, Bateson says local authorities insisted the Socceroo fans clear their bay and leave the stadium promptly.
During the evening, a large group of demonstrators protesting against the country’s leader - who was in attendance - came close to getting through or over the stadiums’ fences, but dispersed once riot police arrived at the scene. The country experienced coups in 2005 and 2010.
Bateson - who was once on a supporters’ bus that was stoned by home fans in Jordan - says there was a breakdown in command and poor communication by those in charge. He says the behaviour at the stadium was in complete contrast to the atmosphere he otherwise felt in the capital of Bishkek, and the warm gestures of support the group received on the way to the ground.
“I’m not blaming the local authorities, because (having a team as big as Australia come here) is quite a unique situation, so we have to balance it with that, (but) I just hope they learn from this for the future.”
Guardian Australia is seeking comment from local authorities.
