NADS Roving Report

Juventus v Chelsea, Stadio Olympico Torino 10.03.09

ThomasCook Sport (TCS) had made all the arrangements for the flights, transport and match tickets for Chelsea’s first group stage match, 2nd leg in Turin, northern Italy – or so I thought. I had booked the daytrip shortly after the draw was made; early in the new year and I have traveled with TCS to watch Chelsea on numerous occasions. However, as the day approached TCS contacted me to ask me if I could contribute to the cost of the wheelchair transport and if I could chase Chelsea about the match tickets. I couldn’t help wondering what TCS had actually been doing since I made the booking.

Oh, they had taken the £416 out of my account (I chose to avoid the £9 credit card charge by using a debit card instead) so they had done something - although even this, they messed up by promising me that it would be taken no earlier than 5 weeks prior to the match. They took the money on 8th Jan meaning I went overdrawn and was charged £19 by my bank.

When I contacted Chelsea regarding my match ticket they told me that TCS had not informed them that I wanted a wheelchair ticket for the match and that because of this I could not have a ticket before I traveled but could collect it at the Stadium on matchday.

Before the day I had been informed that my cost of the transport had been met by Chelsea and that I would not have to pay any extra (note here that I am paying for my place on the coach – as are all non-disabled travelers). I also pointed out to TCS that usually the home team did not charge for wheelchair spaces or PA tickets in the stadium. However £91 was taken from my account on March 3rd although in fairness this was refunded on the day we got back.

Anyway, I set off with my PA (Ivana) at 4.30 on matchday assuming it would be ‘all right on the night’ and by and large it was. Access to and on the aircraft was good. There were two wheelchair bound supporters traveling this time; myself and Jack Morrell who was on his first Chelsea daytrip with his dad Phil. We were both seated in row one which may seem obvious but usually doesn’t happen.

The flight was about 80 minutes and we touched down in Turin at about 11.15 local time. The wheelchair accessible vehicle that had caused all the financial fuss was waiting for us and as we boarded we were handed our match tickets (which seemed strange as Chelsea had told me we would get them at the stadium) Still, I checked them and although I cant speak Italian they clearly said ‘disabled’ on them.

Jack entering the WAV	Our WAV (funded by TCS & Chelsea)

The WAV above left the airport a good while after the coaches carrying the other 220 TCS travelers but we arrived at the City Centre stopping point before them. I think our driver knew the route slightly better than the coach drivers! It took us about 40 minutes and with instructions to meet back at this point at 6.30 CET we had six and a half hours at leisure to enjoy the sights of Turin.

Turin is located beneath the snow-capped mountains of the Alps in northern Italy. The main symbol of Turin is the Mole Antonelliana which now houses the National Museum of Cinema, and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world. Other sights in the City are The Paletine Towers, the Royal Palace of Turin and San Carlo Square where we enjoyed some Italian coffee and were filmed by Sky Sports as we took in the bright sunshine.

Getting around Turin in a wheelchair was relatively simple. The City is mostly paved and every curb is dropped when it meets the road. There was a good disabled toilet in McDonalds (as there always is) I challenge anyone to find a McDonalds anywhere in the world that does not have a disabled toilet! [I’ve never found one].

Six and a half hours passed very quickly and we were at the Stadium well over an hour before kick-off. Juventus no longer play in the Stadio Delle Alpi; the stadium was the most maligned ground in Italy. It was built for the 1990 World Cup (hosted Englands infamouse exit on penalties to the Germans that year) but was located on the outskirts of town, had a soulless atmosphere and was exposed to the alpine winds whistling in from the north. Fans, players, officials and the media used to complain about the stadiums inconvenience, lack of atmosphere and poor view and both occupants Juventus & Torino yearned to build new stadiums.

So both teams now play in the Stadio Olympico Torino. Juventus will move to their new stadium (which is to be built inside the Delle Alpi) when it is built. The Stadio Olympico Torino has a capacity of just over 25,000 although is physically quite large. There is much space between each row of seats and the tiers are well defined, each encirling the ground in an oval shape. The wheelchair bays are second to none and situated about two or three meters above pitch level. We sat adjascent to the half way line and the view was superb and unobstucted.

Just before we set off to come to the stadium I was contacted by TCS to tell me we had been given the wrong tickets and that we should collect the correct ones from the stadium box office. With the help of Chelsea’s head of security [Ed Ashwell] and an interpretor we were shown to the ticket office and after proving who we were (by showing our passports) we were presented with the right tickets.

Jack Morrell, myself and Mark Stevens on the viewing platform	The view from our platform

There were 3 wheelchair users from Chelsea at the match; me and Jack who had traveled with TCS and Mark Stevens who had traveled by car with his mum. They too needed to collect their tickets from the box office but without backup from the club on the day, they found it more difficult than us to get the tickets. Juventus had obviously been given a list of names of wheelchair tickets required by Chelsea and in the end were happy to hand the tickets over to those people. Mark and his mum were traveling on to Rome to see Arsenal the following day.

Exit from the stadium was simple but of course we were out a long time before everyone else. Italy has to be the worst country in the world for enforcing the ‘keeping away fans behind’ after the game. We just waited patiently. A police escort saw the coach convoy both to and from the stadium and was very well organized I must say. Before long we were back at the airport and after another delay caused by airline staff’s working time rules, we flew back to Gatwick landing at about 2.45.

Summary / Description	Cost (Me and PA)	Matt's Mark	Comment
TCS Flight & Transfers	£416	7/10
Car Parking	£24	10/10	At Gatwick airport
Food/Drink	-	-	Had nothing at stadium
Comfort at Stadium	-	10/10	No problems
Access	-	8/10	Difficult to get tickets
Toilets	-	N/A	Didn't use at Stadium
View	-	9/10	Low platform, no obstructions
Stewarding	-	8/10	Helpful and polite