Espanyol has gone back to the past this Saturday to ask for "responsibility" for the multiple incidents that occurred both before, during and after the friendly match played on Friday night between the Moroccan and Chilean teams at the RCDE Stadium in Cornellà-El Prat, home of the blue and white entity.
A large number of fans entered the stadium by force, circumventing the poor control at the entrances and forcing both the turnstiles and the doors that were initially closed. The scene was very similar to the one that occurred in the run-up to the last Champions League final at the Saint-Denis stadium, where many fans entered the stadium jumping the fences and caused heavy police charges.
With the ball rolling, the game was stopped several times by the invasion of several spectators, which caused the Moroccan players to go to the stands to ask for calm. The meeting could even be suspended due to the repeated appearances of spontaneous players on the field of play to get closer to their idols.
Once the duel was over, which ended in victory for the North Africans thanks to goals from Boufal and Sabiri (2-0), a crowd jumped onto the pitch, some of them even climbing over the goals and damaging part of the facilities. Security members, totally overwhelmed, tried unsuccessfully to quell some of the incidents.
"Obviously we regret the incidents in our stadium. Since we are not the organizers, we are asking for responsibilities. It should be said that despite the entire club, whenever it gives or rents the stadium to a third party, it is covered by possible incidents at the level of facilities," Toni said. Alegre, deputy director general of Espanyol.
"That does not mean that we should not take note of what we can improve for the future. We must bear in mind that we have been organizing great events in the stadium for many years and we have to continue taking advantage of that great brand value and great source of income. what the stadium is", he added about the importance of making an economic profit from the RCDE Stadium.
On the other hand, Espanyol reported through a statement that "they will demand the correction by the match organizers of everything that has an impact on the integrity of the elements of the stadium" and that "this experience will be taken into account to avoid as much as possible that something like this could happen in future events organized by third parties".
The perico club also highlights that since its inauguration, in 2009, the stadium has hosted "many matches and events that have taken place without any incident", the last ones this summer with the celebration of an "international meeting and two concerts". "The RCDE Stadium is a first-class facility and a source of pride for Espanyol", concludes the Blue and White entity.
