Blackburn Rovers defends itself after Wrexham fan complaints

More than 7,300 Reds fans made the trip to Blackburn last night (January 29) for the FA Cup fourth-round tie, which Rovers easily won 4-1.

However, what should have been an enjoyable evening for Wrexham fans turned out to be a "nightmare", with fans facing huge delays outside the ground and "worrying scenes" inside. 

Some fans said they missed more than 20 minutes of action, before choosing to stand in the aisles at Ewood Park, saying they were worried for their safety. 

Wrexham fans were housed in the 8,000 capacity Darwen End for the tie.

Blackburn Rovers said the issue was caused by a "significant number" of Wrexham fans arriving late to the game and then not moving to their seats once inside the stadium.

Jade Williams went to the game with her parents and despite arriving at the ground just before 7pm, quickly realised the queues weren't moving. 

She said: "There were only two turnstiles open for hundreds of fans queuing up, and with the security checks it was taking ages. 

"We got in after 19 minutes had been played, we missed the goal which was almost the only highlight. There were still hundreds outside once we had got in.

"Everyone who had been queuing outside were then gathered on the steps towards the seats and you couldn't move. 

"People were getting squashed, it was ridiculous. Thankfully we managed to squeeze through after a couple of fans made room for us to make our way to the seats, but there were no stewards to be seen. 

"We were close to turning around to leave at one point, it just didn't feel safe. Kids were struggling and getting squashed, someone easily could've fallen or slipped from the aisle. 

"It felt dangerous at times."

Wrexham fans were queuing in the concourse at Ewood Park. (Image: Chel Humphreys)

Paul Whiston added: "We got into the queue at around 7.10pm and the queue wasn't moving until about 7.40pm when they must have made the decision to get the crowd through quicker.

"It was really jam-packed there, at one point we were pushed up against the back fence and couldn't move.

"We finally got in the ground and as we were walking up the first flight of stairs, Andy Cannon scored.

"When we got to the steps to go out into the crowd, the officer told us just to find a space anywhere, we ended up standing on the stairs."

Queues of Wrexham fans outside the ground. (Image: Chel Humphreys)

Another supporter, Chel Humphreys, said: "We got outside and the queues were mad but obviously that’s fine, there was plenty of space, but it just wasn’t moving at all so it was piling and piling up.

"You got in and everyone’s just stood on the concourse trying to get through to the seats, but you couldn’t get into the actual stand at all.

"I'd asked a steward if I could go through the barrier between the blocks as I knew there was space in the block next to me as my friend was there, but he said no.

"I went back up as far as I could get and there were about 60 people just on the steps where you turn to go to the seats, I couldn’t breathe at this point, so I had to ask this guy if he could help me get through.

"People were asking stewards to help, but they wouldn’t. I approached another steward and asked if he could help as there were spare seats but you just couldn’t move and his words were 'it’s not my job sorry'. It was just awful.

"In the end, people were just staying down in the concourse, parents were taking the children down to the concourse as they were saying they couldn’t breathe.

"It was chaos and so dangerous."

A Blackburn Rovers spokesperson said: “Due to the sheer volume of away supporters attending last night’s fixture, coupled with the late arrival of a significant number of Wrexham supporter coaches, unfortunately, some visiting fans were unable to gain entry into the stadium in time for kick-off.

“All turnstiles were fully operable for digital access, however the late arrival of supporters meant the excessive demand at the point of entry caused delays to that group of fans. 

“Discussions took place between both clubs and the match officials regarding potentially delaying kick-off, however it was agreed by all parties that the tie should kick-off at 7.30pm as scheduled.

“Once inside the stadium, some Wrexham supporters chose not to make their way to their allocated seats, which caused further congestion, however this improved in the second half.”