WHERE EXACTLY DOES THE BUCK STOP
Assistant Editor John Campbell with his look back on
Athens
AS THE SKYE TRAVEL AIR ATLANTA JUMBO
touched down in Athens on Wednesday, with almost 400 happy Hibbies aboard,
there was an excited burst of song, just to let our hosts know that we'd
arrived. "Hail, hail the Hibs are here, all for goals and glory" Of course,
the irony is that Hibs were not, in fact, 'here' but were back training at
Easter Road after the AEK Athens game had been dramatically called off.
Once the Jumbo was on the tarmac it was possible for those aboard to switch
back on their mobile phones which had been mute since we'd boarded at 8.15
that morning but many of which held the news that our journey had been wasted.
The initial reaction was predictable - disbelief. Following closely on, once
the enormity of the news had sunk in and people began to question the timing
of the events as they had unfolded, was anger.
As we all sat in a state of shock, having been told we were not yet being
allowed to leave the aircraft, that most basic of human reactions took over
and folk began to "shoot the messenger" by complaining about the actions of
Skye Travel that day. Some said we were hurried onto the aircraft and flown
out so that the trip would not be cancelled and the travel firm would get
their money. Others claimed that the staff on board must have known sooner
than they said they had and therefore were telling lies.
This was not quite the footwork we went to Athens to view! (hibs.net)
Clearly none of this was so. We
were scheduled to take off at 7.30am. Delays caused by the heightened security
following those mind numbing atrocities in New York and Washington meant we
actually took off at 8.40am. The fax sent by UEFA to Easter Road, stating the
game had been called off, was timed at 9.45 and was released by the BBC and
others at 9.50, by which time we had been in the air for over an hour. The
pilot had already told us we would be flying towards Amsterdam in the first
instance which backs up the later statement from Rod Petrie that his attempts
to have the aircraft turned back were to no avail because it had left British
air space and turning back was against aviation regulations.
The crew on the flight were told after we'd been in the air for more than two
hours but the pilot was under instruction to continue his flight to Athens. It
is obvious to me that the events were totally beyond the control of Skye
Travel and that they cannot be blamed for what occurred.
So, were Hibs to blame then? Many fans, myself included, were finding it
difficult to understand why Hibs, aware a meeting was to take place, did not
instruct their officially appointed travel agents to delay the flight. A
reasonable question in my view but when I later learned that the flight
carrying the team and Club officials was actually part way down the runway
when it was called back from take off I had to ask myself this; "If Rod Petrie
or anyone at the Club had sufficient reason to think the game would be called
off, why would they have put themselves and the team on an aircraft which was
very nearly up and away when they received word of the postponement?"
Pat running through his chat-up techniques - well there was no football!
(hibs.net)
The fact is that Petrie, as
were all of his colleagues at Easter Road, was totally stunned that UEFA had
made this decision. He had contacted UEFA the night before and was given
absolutely NO indication that such a decision was pending. His subsequent
efforts to have supporters flights recalled were to no avail. So, were Hibs to
blame? No, I don't think so.
The real sinners in this whole farcical situation are undoubtedly UEFA. Their
timing was appalling and whilst I wholly understand their reasons for calling
the games off I do not think their timing and their subsequent attitude
towards supporters is in any way forgivable. Immediately after the games on
Tuesday night was the right time to effect their decision to postpone and not
the next day when it must have been obvious that fans were already travelling.
The sad thing is that they are a law unto themselves. This is an organisation
which, against the advice of Governments and security experts, was prepared to
send a football team into a war zone. This is an organisation which says it
has £40m available to compensate where losses have been made but which Hibs
will have the devils own job persuading it has a case because its aircraft,
although having to be paid for, never actually left the ground. This is an
organisation which says the fans have no claim directly and must pursue any
losses through their Clubs.
There is no doubt who is at fault here. It's not the easy targets of Skye
Travel or Rod Petrie or anyone else at Easter Road. It is UEFA and the fans
affected by this farcical situation, many of whom are hundreds of pounds out
of pocket, must make their views known. I have emailed UEFA to say I am
considering taking legal action against them and I recommend you do the same
by contacting them at info@uefa.com. |
