A Bury man has complained about the treatment he received while attending last night's football match between England and Greece in Athens.
Jamie Murray said police were “heavy-handed” in the treatment of England fans who were queuing to get into the Olympic Stadium last night, Thursday.
The Football Association (FA) and Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) are now investigating the policing and the use of tear gas before the Nations League match.
The Three Lions were backed by 3,500 travelling supporters in the sold-out fixture.
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England secured a 3-0 victory, sparking celebrations, but off the pitch supporters were left unimpressed when they were making their way into the ground.
Fans complained of being “pushed” and receiving “heavy-handed” treatment from Greek police outside the arena.
Mr Murray complained of “heavy-handed” treatment.
He said: “England fans were just queuing to get in- 3,500 through one gate, it hadn’t really been thought out.
“FA officials were just standing watching too.”
Jack Loftus, from Telford said: “It’s been mental.
"They went to adjust the queue at the front to make it narrower and longer and just did it with force. They were pushing the crowd amongst the fence.
“They ultimately treat us like animals, then they’ll act the victim if there’s retaliation. Sick of the foreign police.”
An FA spokesperson said: “We are aware that some of our fans had a difficult experience outside the ground and are obtaining more information on exactly what happened."
The FSA’s Free Lions Fans’ Embassy posted on X: “Unfortunately, once again, we are having to ask England supporters to send in their witness accounts to ourselves regarding the situation outside of the Athens Olympic Stadium.
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“Despite being told how things would operate in advance, to see the exact opposite occur in some cases, and to see the treatment of our fans by local police using shields and tear gas to do something as simple as rearrange a queue, is so incredibly frustrating.
“We’ll say more over the next 24 hours, but in the meantime, if fans can email info@thefsa.org.uk with your experiences, we will work with the FA and we will raise with Fans Europe and in turn UEFA, who have already been made aware.
“On a night where we had a great result on the pitch, there is still clearly so much needed to do off it to ensure our supporters aren’t put in unjustifiably dangerous situations.”
European football’s governing body UEFA is awaiting reports from its match delegate before deciding on any next steps.
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