Eintracht Frankfurt ultra Christopher Ockomm believes there will be clashes between the club’s hardcore fans and Napoli supporters: ‘We feel like we’ve been taken for a ride.’ The two sides will play in tonight’s Champions League last-16 with the Partenopei holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Germany.
Eintracht supporters were initially banned from travelling to Naples for the second-leg, but that was overturned, prompting local authorities to limit tickets to those who were born in or resident in Frankfurt.
Speaking with Tuttomercatoweb, Ockomm expressed his frustration at the behaviour of the authorities ahead of the game and explained why there are likely to be clashes between the two groups of supporters:
“It’s a huge disappointment, because the draw had already happened in November.You know how Eintracht fans are, since the Barcelona days. It was all very sudden, it was known only a week before that the fans would not be able to go to the stadium, and this was a catastrophe because many had already arranged for hotels, flights, to save money.
“The possibility of anything being refunded is very low and you feel stupid because you also tried to save money and combine everything as best you could.
“For me this is particularly frustrating because Napoli is not the classic commercial team like in Paris or the Premier League, it has its own history, it was an event. And all this makes the matter even more bitter.
“Me in Naples? No, for two reasons. The first is that I have 30 days off a year as a family man, and after talking to others, why invest two days for nothing? To have only problems? Those are two days that I prefer to invest by scheduling them with my family. Maybe the God of football will eliminate Napoli and the adventure for Eintracht will continue.
“Other Eintracht fans in Naples? Many will go anyway, but they may not necessarily be recognized as such (some will also go because they may know someone in Naples). Eintracht has withdrawn all the tickets and, therefore, the fans will go to the neutral sector. Some will be there for sure, I would bet, but whether they will be recognized during the game, I don’t know.”
“The bans and refunds? This is the biggest catastrophe, it opens, it closes, it opens, it closes, you feel like you’re being taken for a ride. It is like when you have an employer who wants to know if you are coming or not, etc. Such a situation weighs on people, you blow all your plans, you also feel harassed, taken for a ride, you no longer feel respected.
“Refunds? Through ADAC I have an insurance for reimbursement of expenses and I will inquire if I can get the full amount refunded (which for me is €353 euros just for the flights, I had booked Düsseldorf-Milan and Milan-Naples and return Naples-Amsterdam). It was the cheapest option when I looked, the other flights were around €600 and it was too much for me because you also have to add the match ticket, hotel, cab, etc., it would be more than a thousand euros. I will see what I can do. Apparently those who booked through Eintracht will be fully reimbursed but it will take 4 to 6 weeks.
“Possibility of clashes? Yes, 100 percent, those who know Eintracht know that their fans don’t let themselves be surrounded willingly, there are some quarrelsome fans who would have done as I did, they would have flown separately, probably going through Bergamo to go to Naples with some ‘Bergamasks’, I could imagine something like that as well. I’m sure on Tuesday or Wednesday there will be meetings with the Atalantini. I can understand people, no one wants to have their mouths shut and have their freedom taken away, but already Napoli are afraid of Eintracht fans, you shouldn’t throw gasoline on the fire, there can be problems with the police, they can arrest you… I don’t know how fair that is.”
