Five arrests after attacks
Frankfurt fans flood downtown Seville
May 18, 2022, 6:30 p.m
Karl-Heinz Körbel has “never experienced anything like this” and even UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin is enthusiastic. The fans of Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers from Glasgow make the Europa League final venue Seville a football metropolis. With a lot of singing and a few ugly scenes.
The fans sang their club anthems loudly in the pubs and narrow streets of downtown Seville – and even at the fan festivals in the large squares of the Andalusian metropolis, there was high spirits in the summer heat. Tens of thousands of fans of Eintracht Frankfurt and Glasgow Rangers have mostly peacefully tuned in to the Europa League final tonight (9 p.m. / RTL, RTL+ and in the live ticker on ntv.de). “I’ve been here for 50 years, but I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Bundesliga record player Karl-Heinz Körbel a few hours before kick-off.
From 8:15 p.m. LIVE on RTL: the countdown! Presenter Laura Papendick and expert Karl-Heinz Riedle live from the stadium in Seville. Guests: Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner, Eintracht President Peter Fischer, Eintracht legends Uli Stein, Charly Körbel and Uwe Bein. Commentary: Marco Hagemann and European Champion Steffen Freund.
From 7:45 p.m. LIVE on RTL+: the matchday show! With Arnd Zeigler, Anna Kraft, Robby Hunke and expert Ansgar Brinkmann live from the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Guest: Passionate football fan and Let’s Dance juror Joachim Llambi. Commentary: Cornelius Küpper.
You can also find a live ticker for the game at ntv.de.
The fans of the Scottish runners-up dominated the street scene in the final venue in their typical Rangers blue. Eintracht President Peter Fischer therefore called on the supporters of the Bundesliga soccer club to make a last joint effort in the ongoing competition at the fan festival on the Prado de San Sebastian: “Show the Bravehearts what we Frankfurters can do. The team needs your energy.”
Then the 66-year-old brought the fans greetings from the players: “I’ll tell you from the team: thank you, thank you, thank you for being here.” He was an “incredibly proud president because you exist and you enchant football”.
Five arrests after clashes
On the historic football day for Hessen, Fischer remembered the deceased club legends Jürgen Grabowski and Bernd Nickel. “Of course we’re thinking today of the two who celebrated great successes with Eintracht. We will never forget them,” he called out to the thousands of Eintracht supporters. Like Grabowski and Nickel, Körbel was there in 1980 when Eintracht won their only international title to date, the UEFA Cup. “It’s time for new heroes,” said Körbel.
Since Glasgow Rangers’ only European triumph to date was 50 years before the game, everyone involved is looking forward to the showdown. “We are full of anticipation because this competition is a unique gathering of the loudest and most vocal fans in Europe,” emphasized Frankfurt’s board spokesman Axel Hellmann on Wednesday night at a club reception. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin explicitly expressed his delight at the final between two traditional clubs with loud fan support.
Although the beer had been flowing since midday, it remained mostly peaceful until late afternoon. Only around 200 German supporters caused trouble when they attacked Scottish fans near the cathedral in the center of the southern Spanish city on Wednesday night and threw flares, tables and bottles at the approaching police. Five people were arrested.
Officially, both fan groups had only received 10,000 tickets each. “There are 190,000 fans that we can’t get into this Mickey Mouse stadium,” Fischer complained about the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, which only has a capacity of 44,000 spectators. For comparison: around 60,000 fans were expected at the public viewing in and around the Frankfurt stadium on Wednesday evening.