Following concerns from THST members present at the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 match against Benfica on Thursday 13th March, THST spoke with THFC about the key issues from the game - namely crowd segregation, with pockets of Benfica fans present in home areas, and that of pyrotechnics, a number of which were activated by Benfica supporters at times during the match.
THFC responded as follows and we are now sharing this with our members and the wider Spurs supporting community as information and a follow up to those concerns.
THFC response to ticketing and segregation issues:
- THFC did not, at any point, knowingly sell tickets to Benfica supporters. Turned away many fans from the Ticket Office in the run up to the game
- StubHub was not activated for this match
- THFC provided Benfica with the full 5% allocation, as per UEFA rules, in the South Lower. Benfica sold these out to their Socio members in Portugal
- Monitoring of sales identified possible Benfica fans in home areas - safety and stewarding teams were briefed accordingly
- THFC is obliged to supply 200 visitor Cat 1 tickets in the West Stand under UEFA rules. This added to the perception that Benfica fans were in "large blocks" throughout the stadium, although groupings of 50 or so were sat in other home areas. This is of course, in no way ideal
- Benfica have played at Newcastle United, Arsenal and Chelsea in recent seasons with very few issues. THFC use reports from those matches to inform our processes and arrangements for the game at White Hart Lane.
- The match went to "General Sale". Every Spurs fan had a chance to buy a seat. Some London and wider UK based Benfica fans bought tickets in the General Sale window online. The sale process was no different from other PL games that reach General Sale
- Even with a sale restricted to those on the THFC database, not all of the Benfica fans would have been prevented from attending as there are many Portuguese supporters on THFC databases (legacy of previous matches with SC Braga and large ethnic Portuguese and Brazilian population in London)- Benfica are a huge club with a global fanbase - games involving Benfica attract many of the huge ex pat community in the UK
- THFC supporters similarly regularly access tickets for "hard to get" European games where official allocations have sold out by purchasing tickets in "home" areas and sitting with home fans. This has happened in recent seasons at Milan, Inter, Madrid, Leverkusen and Bremen and even some domestic cup ties and finals
- This does not, of course, make it right or assist those who did feel intimidated but demonstates that these issues are not isolated to games at White Hart Lane
- THFC identified and emailed all those "first time" fans who purchased tickets in the General Sale period with a "Welcome" letter to remind them that they had purchased tickets in a home fans area of the ground (along with other key T&C's) and offer a refund opportunity if they did not wish to attend. THFC knew where these supporters were located in the stadium and added additional resource into those areas
- THFC took an operational decision to allow Benfica Supporters into the stadium and an operational decision to allow them to remain. It is safer to manage inside the stadium than outside and far safer for them to remain seated rather than send stewards in to crowded and feisty blocks to remove fans
- On the whole, the vast majority of fans from both sides were well behaved. The Benfica fans sitting in the home areas, in the main Blocks 47, 56, H & J were UK based family groups. They more or less kept colours under wraps until first goal was scored and then became more confident in display their allegiances and wearing red very much stands out in our crowd
- THFC relocated Benfica supporters and Spurs supporters who may have felt threatened to more appropriate areas of the ground
- To be very clear, the Benfica supporters in the home areas were completely different in terms of behaviour and attitude than the Wisla Krakow supporters from a few years ago. The Benfica fans were, in the main, UK family groups who were completely passive just intent on watching a good game of football
- THFC will take on board all the feedback following the game and use when considering future ticket selling patterns for home European ties
THFC response to Pyrotechnics:
- 2 flares, 1 thunderflash and 5/6 smoke bombs were activated during the match
- THFC carried out strict searching procedures at the away section, as at all UEFA matches - several other flares were removed from fans at the turnstiles
- However, some of the items brought in and ignited were extremely small and difficult to locate, particularly the smoke bombs
- On previous occasions, they have been secreted on a person in areas where Stewards won’t and should not search
- It is possible that the flares came in with the bag of flags, but this can’t be confirmed
- THFC are reluctant to refuse flags and banners as our fans always take them to away UEFA games and any refusal may have had Benfica respond in the same way for the second leg
- THFC will ensure a more thorough search of these bags in the future
- UEFA delegates observed the process at the Away section turnstiles and were more than happy but, clearly, a few items were missed
THFC response to ticketing and segregation issues:
- THFC did not, at any point, knowingly sell tickets to Benfica supporters. Turned away many fans from the Ticket Office in the run up to the game
- StubHub was not activated for this match
- THFC provided Benfica with the full 5% allocation, as per UEFA rules, in the South Lower. Benfica sold these out to their Socio members in Portugal
- Monitoring of sales identified possible Benfica fans in home areas - safety and stewarding teams were briefed accordingly
- THFC is obliged to supply 200 visitor Cat 1 tickets in the West Stand under UEFA rules. This added to the perception that Benfica fans were in "large blocks" throughout the stadium, although groupings of 50 or so were sat in other home areas. This is of course, in no way ideal
- Benfica have played at Newcastle United, Arsenal and Chelsea in recent seasons with very few issues. THFC use reports from those matches to inform our processes and arrangements for the game at White Hart Lane.
- The match went to "General Sale". Every Spurs fan had a chance to buy a seat. Some London and wider UK based Benfica fans bought tickets in the General Sale window online. The sale process was no different from other PL games that reach General Sale
- Even with a sale restricted to those on the THFC database, not all of the Benfica fans would have been prevented from attending as there are many Portuguese supporters on THFC databases (legacy of previous matches with SC Braga and large ethnic Portuguese and Brazilian population in London)- Benfica are a huge club with a global fanbase - games involving Benfica attract many of the huge ex pat community in the UK
- THFC supporters similarly regularly access tickets for "hard to get" European games where official allocations have sold out by purchasing tickets in "home" areas and sitting with home fans. This has happened in recent seasons at Milan, Inter, Madrid, Leverkusen and Bremen and even some domestic cup ties and finals
- This does not, of course, make it right or assist those who did feel intimidated but demonstates that these issues are not isolated to games at White Hart Lane
- THFC identified and emailed all those "first time" fans who purchased tickets in the General Sale period with a "Welcome" letter to remind them that they had purchased tickets in a home fans area of the ground (along with other key T&C's) and offer a refund opportunity if they did not wish to attend. THFC knew where these supporters were located in the stadium and added additional resource into those areas
- THFC took an operational decision to allow Benfica Supporters into the stadium and an operational decision to allow them to remain. It is safer to manage inside the stadium than outside and far safer for them to remain seated rather than send stewards in to crowded and feisty blocks to remove fans
- On the whole, the vast majority of fans from both sides were well behaved. The Benfica fans sitting in the home areas, in the main Blocks 47, 56, H & J were UK based family groups. They more or less kept colours under wraps until first goal was scored and then became more confident in display their allegiances and wearing red very much stands out in our crowd
- THFC relocated Benfica supporters and Spurs supporters who may have felt threatened to more appropriate areas of the ground
- To be very clear, the Benfica supporters in the home areas were completely different in terms of behaviour and attitude than the Wisla Krakow supporters from a few years ago. The Benfica fans were, in the main, UK family groups who were completely passive just intent on watching a good game of football
- THFC will take on board all the feedback following the game and use when considering future ticket selling patterns for home European ties
THFC response to Pyrotechnics:
- 2 flares, 1 thunderflash and 5/6 smoke bombs were activated during the match
- THFC carried out strict searching procedures at the away section, as at all UEFA matches - several other flares were removed from fans at the turnstiles
- However, some of the items brought in and ignited were extremely small and difficult to locate, particularly the smoke bombs
- On previous occasions, they have been secreted on a person in areas where Stewards won’t and should not search
- It is possible that the flares came in with the bag of flags, but this can’t be confirmed
- THFC are reluctant to refuse flags and banners as our fans always take them to away UEFA games and any refusal may have had Benfica respond in the same way for the second leg
- THFC will ensure a more thorough search of these bags in the future
- UEFA delegates observed the process at the Away section turnstiles and were more than happy but, clearly, a few items were missed
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