How an Old Lady Survived the Trip to Bruges

When the Europa fixtures were first announced, I knew I wanted to go to Bruges.  The sensible option was to spend a couple of nights there but that wasn’t possible because I had a commitment on Wednesday afternoon.  Another option was a day trip, leaving early on Thursday morning.  I told myself that really wasn’t sensible for someone of my age and looked at YouTube videos of inebriated fans to remind myself that it wasn’t my scene at all.

Even though I’d definitely decided not to go I couldn’t resist looking at the various tours on offer.  Two weeks before the game I found that there were still spaces available on the official coach trip. Almost in a trance I booked a place, telling myself that I could get all but £10 refunded if I didn’t get a ticket to the game.   A week later I spent an hour standing in a queue at St Andrews to get my ticket, all the time telling myself I was crazy.

My coach left St Andrews on time at 3 a.m. on Thursday morning.  There was a bright half moon as we set out and a clear blue sky over the white cliffs of Dover as the ferry sailed out.  By the time we arrived in Bruges, shortly after noon, there were some white clouds in the sky but it was a lovely day for sightseeing.   I did pay a brief visit to the square where Blues fans were celebrating but spent most of the time wandering around other parts of the beautiful city, wishing I had a week there and not just an afternoon.

The police that I saw looked relaxed and friendly.  I saw three police stand smiling as they watched a loud group of fans walk past.  One of the fans went over to chat to the police and when he rejoined his group they started to sing:

The city is yours
The city is yours
When we’re in Europe
The city is yours

So far so good, then, I felt glad I’d gone. It wasn’t until I was inside the ground that things started to get scary both on and off the pitch.  On the pitch, the team selection was surprising and when they started playing they looked just as mystified by the formation as we were.  It was as though they’d been sent out after an afternoon nap and were still waking up as Brugge skilfully passed the ball around them.

It was even scarier in the stand.  It was dilapidated and many of the seats didn’t have numbers on so people decided to sit anywhere.  This worked ok for the fans that came into the seating area in good time, but a lot came in after or just before the game started.  I think some had been on shuttle buses caught up in traffic and some had bought alcohol at the ground and had to consume it before they were allowed into the seating area.  Whatever the reason, the fans packed into the area and completely filled up the aisle.  Some that were really drunk kept falling over and causing the whole crowd to stagger; the seat backs were very low so they could fall into the next row quite easily.  One drunk behind me kept using my shoulder to steady himself when he fell forward. I was grateful to the two men next to me who invited me to move between them. They shielded me from the drunk but it still felt dangerous and if I could have seen a way out I would have left.  Around the half hour mark the BCFC stewards arrived on the scene.  I heard that before that they’d be on duty on the shuttle buses or outside the ground.  When they got inside and saw the situation they’d insisted that some of the lower seating area be opened up.  As the BCFC stewards worked on clearing the aisle near me, they told us we could move downstairs and helped us get out of the crush.  I went right to the back of the lower seating area with a wall behind me and that felt much safer.

The view from below was better than the view I’d had in the upper level. Up there a yellow fence had blocked my view of one corner of the ground and most of the goal.  If you look at the YouTube video that shows our end you will see a section on the left of the upper stand that is separated by yellow fences from the rest. I was in that area.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9lIIYZrZWg

Because my view was blocked I didn’t see the Brugge goal and only realised it had been scored by their fans’ reaction.  I didn’t see our equaliser either; I was too busy looking back at the alarming crowd situation behind me. That goal left me feeling more terrified than pleased as people starting jumping up and down. As the fans around me went crazy I was remembering all I’d heard about people getting killed in crush situations and thinking it wasn’t a pleasant way to die.  However, I did see our winner and that was fantastic.

Our coach arrived back at St Andrews at 5 a.m. Friday morning.  I was very tired, very glad we’d won and even gladder to be alive and uninjured. I count the BCFC stewards among the heroes of that night.

Margaret