Subscribe to our social channels to get the latest news about Hungary!
Soccer fans party in Porto ahead of Chelsea-Manchester City match – locals angry and afraid
Change language:
Big crowds of English fans took over Porto’s riverside area on Saturday to drink and chant team slogans ahead of the Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City.
Some 16,500 fans will be allowed into the stadium when the match kicks off at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) but many others travelled to support their teams from the sidelines. Dozens of packed planes touched down at the city’s airport on Saturday morning.
The fans, singing loudly and holding plastic cups of beer,
were very largely maskless and did not socially distance, to the annoyance of some locals. In Portugal, masks are still mandatory outside if people cannot observe social distancing.
Ines Andrade, a 19-year-old student from Porto, was visibly upset as she watched the scenes from nearby, saying
it was “revolting” to see how fans were behaving,
just four months after Portugal faced its toughest battle against COVID-19.
- 6 best Hungarian footballers of all time
- The world in awe by the Hungarian bride of an Italian football star – PHOTOS
“For us, Portuguese, is it very disturbing to see these people come here and ruin everything we have tried to achieve over the last months and year.”
Fans had to present a negative COVID-19 test on arrival at the airport.
But there has been concern in Portugal that the event could fuel a spike in cases after authorities decided to relax COVID-19 rules for the match. Portugal is on the British government’s “green” list allowing tourists to visit the country without quarantining on their return..
English football fans cause trouble wherever they go.
But this is how the English supporters behave. I’m not saying all of them, a lot of them are well behaved and just love to watch the game, especially if they take young members of their family. There are, however, some that do react in this way. It’s tribal. It’s what brings them together. Football is like a religion in the UK. And when there’s alcohol consumed then it really changes things. No matter whether a supported team wins or loses, they will behave in this way. Plus, this will have been the first match in over a year that many have attended due to covid.