England chaos as hundreds of fans stuck outside rugby stadium and miss kick-off
Hundreds of fans were still queuing outside of the Stade Velodrome on Saturday evening after England's Rugby World Cup clash against Argentina had started.
One England fan has told Mirror Sport they queued outside of the stadium in Marseille for "over an hour" before they finally got in. They also struggled to find their seat after accessing the ground due to a lack of stewards, calling the incident a "shambles".
Pictures of large queues outside of the Stade Velodrome started to emerge on social media around 30 minutes before the match started at 8pm (UK time). Images showed fans slowly getting past security, with hundreds more waiting outside.
Fans and journalists inside the ground became concerned by the amount of empty seats there were just before the match got underway. Organisers decided against delaying the start of the clash, which caused some fans to miss a chunk of the action.
Saturday night's game will raise leave rugby fans concerned for the rest of the tournament in France, which only started on Friday night. The final is scheduled to be played at the Stade de France in Paris on October 28 in seven weeks' time.
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That is also alarming, as the Stade de France was the venue for the 2022 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. More than 200 people suffered injuries at that game after fans struggled to gain access into the ground before kick-off.
French police used tear gas and pepper spray on fans and journalists. They also directed fans into a bottleneck before entering the ground, leaving them in danger of being crushed. That football game was delayed by 36 minutes as a result of the chaos.
England faced Argentina in their Rugby World Cup opener (Getty Images)What do you make of the situation at the Stade Velodrome? Let us know in the comments below!
France's sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera was asked about the safety of fans ahead of the World Cup. She said: "Yes, they will be safe. This morning we were with the minister of interior Gerald Darmanin to expose all what we have reinforced in terms of security, anticipation, prevention of riots. We have also made big work on the transport security.
"We are ready on all fronts. We have learnt a lot from what happened one year ago... in terms of governance, in terms of anticipating the various risks, (in terms) of coordinating the response. We are more ready than ever.
"We will continue to learn, of course. We will do in due time all the learning elements we will draw - the lessons we will draw from the World Cup - to be even better for the games... I can assure you that you will be enjoying a very, very good World Cup here. With the organising committee, we will be ready to welcome the world."
Organisers will need to ensure entry into stadiums becomes smoother as the tournament progresses. They will also be aware of the Olympics taking place in Paris next year.
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