“Hundreds” of fans attending last night’s Scotland Under-21 match against Hungary at Tannadice Park in Dundee were still outside the ground more than half an hour after kick-off.
The game started at 7.30 but our photographer snapped fans trying to get into the stadium through gates that had apparently just been opened around 8pm.
One of those who made it into the ground after a long delay told us: “We missed 40 minutes of the game. That was with tickets for our club.
“Kids were getting squashed inside the ground because one steward wouldn’t let us up the stairs even though we were told from three different stewards to go up.”
The fan added: “When we did get up most of the seats were taken. Everyone was running to get to the seats.
“I just hope no one was hurt. Shame on the SFA. NEVER again!”
Another angry fan, Nicholas Gilmour,contacted us to hit out at the organisation of the event.
“Initially it took far too long to get into the ground,” he said.“Once in the stand, in the main hall, we could not then get access to our seats. Crowding then started, tempers were rising and there seemed to be no coordination.
“A night of football should have been a great way to encourage families andchildren to support football but ultimately it did the opposite. I went with my 10 and 12-year-old sons, and at times I wasworried for their safety.
“Eventually I found a fire exit and left the stand. Fortunately we were able to get into another stand in time to catch the end of the first half and the remainder of the match.
“Whoever was in charge of the event has a lot to answer for. It should never have been allowed to happen, especially with a significantly younger crowd.”
Another fan said: “It was ridiculous. There were very few cash gates, most of them were shut and we were left for ages.
“It’s not a great advert for bringing matches like this to Dundee, is it?”
Another supporter said: “It was an absoluteorganisational farce.Massive queues waited for over45 minutes to get access to the stadium through only two available turnstiles, with the majority of the fans missing the entire first half.
“Many dozens of supporters left before even reaching the turnstiles, exasperated at the delay and voicing their frustrationwith the organisers of the event as they left.”
Another fan posted on our Facebook page: “Disgraceful scenes outside Tannadice tonight with hundreds queueing to get in 20 minutes after kick-off.
“Many groups of kids and volunteers stuck outside with no stewards to be scene. Lots of people like myself just went home.”
Other fans spoke of seeing children in tears as tempers rose among fans trying to get to their seats.
The SFA later issued a statement apologising for the problems.
“The Scottish FA and Dundee United FC would like to apologise to any supporters who experienced problems entering thestadium at tonight’s under-21 match between Scotland and Hungary,” it said.
“This was due to a larger than anticipatedcrowd arriving close to kick-off time,causing some congestion at the turnstiles.
“We took appropriate steps to ease the congestion and ensure safe seating within the stadium.
“We would like to thank the excellentcrowd of 4,537, who came along toTannadice to support the Under-21 team.”
The match ended in a 2-2 draw.