BBC Sport asked fans experienced in European away travel to document how English clubs' trips unfolded during the last two Champions League and Europa League matchweeks. Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said conditions for visiting supporters varied across Europe and had deteriorated in some countries.

The 2022 Champions League final was poorly organized by UEFA and French authorities. Fans were barred from attending some away matches in the Champions League earlier this season due to security concerns.

Evain said conditions varied across Europe and in some places had worsened. “There are definitely countries where the situation is deteriorating, like Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands,” Evain said. “There are also repeat offenders - countries and clubs where things are not improving and they have demonstrated that they are not capable of hosting games in acceptable conditions.”

“France, Spain, Portugal and Italy are major tourist destinations that are very used to hosting people from all over the world, but clearly treat football fans completely differently - like a threat or second-tier citizen,” Evain said. “There are some things that are small humiliations - being forced to enter a stadium four hours before kick off, put on a bus for hours with no toilet, having lip balm taken off you.”

Fans report overly aggressive policing at some European away football matches, as well as crushing caused by poorly managed stadium entry and exit procedures. Fans report lack of toilet access, invasive body searches, and confiscation of items like power banks and medications at some European away football matches.

“These things are rarely necessary, and are either a way for the police to exert a form of social control, or just completely outdated,” Evain said. “Then we see things like pushing thousands of fans through gates no bigger than an apartment door - there are clearly policing strategies and infrastructural failures that are putting people's lives at risk.” “It just takes a few people to panic for things to go really wrong.”

Fans of Manchester City strongly criticized policing and security measures at a Champions League match in Istanbul, while Manchester United fans strongly criticized policing and security measures at a Champions League match in Lyon. Fans of Newcastle strongly criticized policing and security measures at a Champions League match in Marseille.

“The riot police made entering and exiting the stadium really hard work,” Liverpool fan Jane Boland said. “After being told to arrive at a designated meeting point more than four hours before kick off, we were held in overcrowded areas and made to wait for ages, sometimes with difficult or no toilet access.” “Leaving the stadium took over two hours after full time - by far the longest I've ever experienced.”

“We avoided arriving in Naples until the afternoon of the game, based on Napoli fans' reputation for hostility,” Chelsea fan Gemma Manns said. “Hearing about the two young guys who were stabbed was horrible but not surprising.” “In the end we didn't see any trouble around the ground once we got to Naples, and the checks were all efficient.”

“We were kept behind for over an hour after the game, and big groups of ultras stayed in their stand to try to intimidate us, so we felt at risk,” Manns said. “Once we headed towards the designated buses after leaving the ground, the police completely disappeared, and we were packed on.” “The doors were open doors and we had no protection when it felt like we might need it - that was really sketchy.”

“I am a wheelchair user, and although we were warned by Villa about what conditions would be like, it was still worse than I expected,” Aston Villa fan Jude Aston said. “Once we were in the ground, us disabled supporters had to sit inside a cage in front of the away end.” “It had thick bars and some wiring that meant I could hardly see any of the goal at the end of the pitch in front of me.”

“The cage was locked for most of the match, and I was the furthest one along - I couldn't get out to use the toilet until half time and I don't know what I would have done if there was a fire or something,” Aston said. “I felt quite claustrophobic.” “But it's 2026 - there has to be a better way than this.”

“Transport was pretty efficient, overall. The meeting point was well organized and the police gave clear instructions,” Spurs fan Sue Fox said. “Then we took a train and they marched us through a very dark, muddy forest for about half an hour.” “When we arrived at the ground the gates were locked so we had to queue for an hour, and we were all packed very close together.”

“On the way to the stadium we had to wait in big, tight queues for the designated metro for a long time, and then got packed on like sardines,” Arsenal fan Dylan White said. “Outside the ground, some extremely thorough ticket checks meant we were in very tight queues again, which got tighter and tighter because the entry gates were locked until 20 minutes before kick off.”

Security arrangements and policing strategies for European matches are developed by host clubs, national governments, local authorities and regional police forces with input from UEFA. Fan treatment can vary based on the location visited, the policies of the host country or city, home fans' behaviour and the context of the game, and individual fans may have different experiences on the same away trip.