Man Utd fans hit by chaos in Lyon with supporters missing kick-off after being forced to take buses miles from stadium
MANCHESTER UNITED fans were left in a “ridiculous situation” ahead of their Europa League clash with Lyon.Supporters were hit with travel chaos ahead of the quarter-final first leg at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.Manchester United’s away end at Lyon had a lot of empty seats just minutes before kick-offCredit: PAUnited fans have hit out at a logistics “shambles” ahead of their Europa League clash with LyonCredit: AlamyFOLLOW ALL THE ACTION FROM LYON VS MAN UTDUnited were hoping to salvage their season with some European silverware after a dismal campaign.But fans had another mare as they tried to reach the stadium on Thursday.Disgruntled Red Devils on tour took to social media to hit out at a “shambolic” transport situation in the city. READ MORE ON MAN UTDLocal authorities in France put in place a number of restrictions on away fans for the tie.Every United fan was told to collect a wristband from the Eurexpo Conference Centre between 5pm and kick-off.Without a band, they would not be allowed entry to the stadium.The location to pick up the band is over 10km from the ground.Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKAnd to top it off, Metro issues across the city saw fans piling onto buses, with roads grinding to a halt.United fans were told they would only be allowed to take designated ‘Shuttle 1 Stadium’ buses from Eurexpo. Man Utd’s secret weapon in Treble-winning season revealed as star who played ‘bigger role than people give credit for’Only supporters who use those buses were granted access to the away end, per The Mail.One fan raged on X: “#MUFC fans facing a ridiculous situation in Lyon. Stadium already miles out of town & they’re being forced to another location by authorities to collect a wristband, before being sent on a bus to the ground.”Another wrote: “Club have sent this SMS to ticket holders for Lyon (a). Can’t say I’m up for a long bus ride in traffic to Eurexpo to pick up a wristband and then another long bus ride to stadium. It’s a shambles and entirely down to local authorities in Lyon.”While a third added: “For the record this is a disgrace from Lyon. The wristband nonsense bad enough but half the transport just isn’t moving anywhere. There’s no excuse for this, no trouble at all. Deserve to have the same done to them next week.”And PA’s chief football writer Simon Peach posted a snap of a sparsely populated away end just minutes before kick-off.It took until seventeen minutes into the match for commentators to confirm the end was full.United put out a statement prior to Thursday and assured fans the club had “fought hard” against the measures.The club even claimed Lyon had originally aimed for two wristband collection points in the city centre. Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from Old TraffordIt read: “We appreciate and apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause to some of your plans.”Please be assured that the club has fought hard to reduce the impact on travelling fans, which originally involved two collection points situated across the city centre.Read More on The Sun”The below protocol has been forced upon us by local authorities and follows similar protocol in place for Frankfurt and Bucharest supporters at previous Europa League fixtures this season. “We must, however, relay the strong advice of the host country security and police forces and ask that you comply with their request.” More