Tartan Army misery over Munich fan zone ‘shambles’

Scotland fans in Munich for the Euro 2024 opener say they faced three-hour waits for a beer and broken toilets as the city’s fan zone struggled to cope with crowds.

An estimated 200,000 in the Tartan Army travelled to Germany for Friday’s clash, with about 25,000 watching Scotland’s 5-1 defeat by the host nation at Olympiapark.

One fan told the BBC that supporters experienced immediate problems buying food and drink and that some resorted to pushing down a fence to urinate, rather than wait for an hour to use the men’s toilets.

The City of Munich, which organised the fan zone, has been approached for comment.

It was a night of disappointment for Scotland fans, following the biggest win in the opening match in the 66-year history of the tournament.

The drubbing saw Germany score within the first 10 minutes, a red card for Ryan Porteous and a final fifth goal in injury time after a brief moment of joy for Scotland when Antonio Rüdiger scored a late own goal.

It had followed days of exuberant celebrations as the Tartan Army arrived in Munich with much pomp and circumstance.

Fan Callum Napier told the BBC he regretted watching the game in the official fan zone.

The 24-year-old from Peebles arrived at Olympiapark several hours before kick off at 20:00 GMT without issue, but said there were immediate problems with long queues for food and drink.

Speaking about how some had waited for three hours in a queue, he said: “It was a shambles.

“It started off as an orderly queue and towards the front it was just a total stramash.”

Calum said there were also waits of about an hour to use the men’s toilets and that fans had resorted to pushing down a fence and going behind it.

“I wish I’d watched the game in a pub to be honest,” he said.

Several supporters chose to leave the park at half time, hoping to catch the rest of the game in a city centre pub.

George Dall was among them – he said: “It was three hours trying to get a pint, which was soul destroying.

“We couldn’t get one. Can’t get a pint in Munich, what’s wrong?

Margaret McCrosson, who was also in the group, added: “We’re on our way out because we’ve got sore backs actually.

“We’ll try and catch it in a bar so we can have a wee refreshment.”

City officials had said there would be no public viewing of the match in Munich’s Marienplatz due to concerns of overcrowding, and urged fans to spread out elsewhere in the city.

Earlier on Friday the city’s head of economic development, Peter Inselkammer, had given reassurances after a bar in the main square ran out of beer on the first night of celebrations.

He told BBC News: “Yes, there is enough beer. Think of Oktoberfest – that’s seven million visitors with nine million litres of beer. So we are used to having guests who are very thirsty.”

Many Scotland fans are now heading to Cologne for the squad’s next match against Switzerland on Wednesday.