by We are almost a week into the Euros and although Germany beat Scotland 5-1, no team has taken as much of a beating as their reputation for efficiency and organisation. Reports of travel chaos, inadequate signage, unhelpful staff and faulty infrastructure have thrown matches off course. You would expect this in Britain; not from our Teutonic cousins. Despite preconceptions to the contrary, it seems the Germans can’t make the trains run on time.
The chaos is more surprising to outsiders because Germany is a big, rich, football-loving country that usually has games of this magnitude. They should be used to dealing with thousands of followers.
Talk to those who live there, however, and it’s clear that these problems are nothing new; it is only the focus of an international audience, thousands attending in person and hundreds of millions watching on television, that is informing the outside world about them. England and Scotland fans are shocked to find themselves on a delayed train; the locals just roll their eyes.
Oliver Brown, The Telegraphthe chief sportswriter says: “The 2006 World Cup here in Germany has gone down in folklore, not just for Zinedine Zidane’s lead in the final but as a tournament where every accredited journalist could enjoy first-class rail travel across the country. Fast forward 18 years and the luster has faded: Deutsche Bahn services have so far been late and at a price point to challenge even West coast Avanti. Little wonder that many of the England fans, here under the gray sky of Frankfurt, feel right at home.”
It’s a shame there’s no word in German for enjoying other people’s misery, or this would be the perfect time to deploy it.
Confused fan park
Fear for all the fans and hopelessness for the team, the reaction after England’s first game of the Euros, against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, was something far more disturbing: Germany’s incompetence . Fans and journalists reported scenes of chaos, calling the experience “shambolic” and “by far the worst” they had ever had at a game in England. A poorly located fan park was blamed.
Things were particularly difficult for fans in wheelchairs or with other mobility issues. There were overcrowded buses, a poorly located fan park, inadequate lighting, unhelpful signage, and treacherously slippery footpaths. Stragglers were still filing into the ground long after Jude Bellingham’s only goal. England games often leave children in tears, but usually at the end of the game rather than the beginning.
Chaos train
It wasn’t the final whistle that ended the problems at England v Serbia. There was just as much delay going out as going in. The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) said they were “outraged” by the chaos, saying “fans were stranded in Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof three hours after the match ended. Behavior problems at a major tournament make it simply ridiculous.” One furious fan said the behavior was taken out of Germany’s hands and handed over to UEFA. You know things are badly organized when UEFA seems to be a better option.
Thread on the autobahn
England Serbia wasn’t the only game affected. For Friday’s tournament opener, trains running out of central Munich to Fröttmaning station, near Bayern Munich’s home ground, the Allianz Arena, were grounded, causing long delays for thousands of hot German and Scottish fans. As the Glasgow airport bar had run out of lager earlier in the day, by evening some of the fans were no doubt needing the loo. Chaotic scenes on the trains and trams led to overpriced taxis, with others choosing to walk several miles rather than risk missing out on the kickback. There was more crowding at the ground, where fans reported an apologetic manager explaining that it was his “first game.”
Fixing holes where the rain comes in
British football fans are used to the sight of rain pouring into stadiums, especially at Old Trafford. When Manchester United lost to Arsenal in May, water poured through an old gutter in the corner of the stadium. It was even more surprising to see the same problem affecting the stadium in Dortmund yesterday. Heavy rain in the build up to Turkey vs Georgia caused water to pour down onto the pitch from a hole in the roof, sending fans scurrying for cover and a groundsman’s diligent effort to sweep it away with a broom.
No wonder
The data from inside Germany suggests that the travel problems should not come as a surprise. In recent years rail services have been deteriorating rapidly. In 2023, the punctuality rate for Deutsche Bahn fell below 60 percent, down from 80 percent in 2020. In 2022, more than a third of long-distance trains were at least six minutes late, a ten-year low. In the three months to March 2024, Britain’s punctuality rate was 68 per cent. Those who live there report a country plagued by gummy bureaucracy, with government services still based on paper, delays in council appointments and low levels of customer service. Fax machines are still very popular.
Perhaps we should see the empty stadium as a metaphor. You only notice the hole in the roof when it rains; and you only notice the creation of a national infrastructure when you have a major competition. For comparison-loving Brits, the only disappointment is that while the trains might not run on time, the Germans crew in ominously good form.
