With around 50,000 fans expected to attend the Europa League Final this Wednesday, safety is under the microscope like never before. While the clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur promises fireworks on the pitch, experts are warning of hidden dangers in the stands. Here, Health and Safety Expert Josh McNicholas from Evalu-8 EHS shares the biggest stadium hazards and three safety action tips to make stadium operations bulletproof…
Crowd movement and crushes
At high-stakes events like the Europa League Final at San Mamés Stadium, stairwell falls are one of the most common and preventable causes of injury. As tens of thousands of fans move between concourses, bathrooms, and their seats, congested stairways become high-risk zones, especially when emotions are running high and visibility is low. Spills, uneven steps, or poorly marked exits can quickly lead to trips and falls.
Flares and pyrotechnics
Flares and pyrotechnics, while banned, continue to be smuggled into matches and lit in defiance of stadium rules. These pose serious risks not only due to burns and smoke inhalation but also because they can cause sudden surges in crowd movement. At a final of this scale, a single pyrotechnic incident can disrupt entire sections and divert emergency resources, making it a top priority for pre-event screening and monitoring.
Pitch invasions
Pitch invasions may seem spontaneous, but they are deeply disruptive and increasingly dangerous, particularly when player safety is compromised. A high-profile example was an incident in a 2023 Europa League game involving PSV and Sevilla, where a PSV fan assaulted the Sevilla goalkeeper, highlighting the risk of allowing even one individual to breach the field. With players under intense pressure and fans emotionally charged, even a brief security lapse can lead to serious consequences. Beyond physical danger, such incidents damage the integrity of the match, delay gameplay, and expose venues to fines or sanctions from governing bodies like UEFA.
How to use software to prevent in-stadium hazards
Using health and safety software offers simple yet powerful tools to boost stadium safety ahead of major events like the Europa League Final. Systems such as this can improve inspections digitally with photo evidence and geo-tags, enable real-time incident reporting and create predictive analytics dashboards to analyse historical incident data, identifying high-risk zones and behavioural trends.
There’s zero tolerance for preventable accidents at events of this scale. Even the most iconic venues need to tighten up. Safety must start at the turnstile and carry through to the final whistle.
Photo by Rafael Camacho Greilberger on Unsplash
