IRISH SUPPORTERS due to stay in a campsite in Poznan before last night’s opening game for the Republic in the European Championships were left stranded after local authorities closed the site.
Camp operators Hotelioni Hotels were forced to close the site after Poznan City Hall instructed police to shut it on Saturday.
The site had not obtained the required legal permits necessary to run such a business and had been operating illegally, according to Poznan City Hall.
A group of six male supporters from Letterkenny, Co Donegal, arrived at the campsite on Saturday but were turned away by police.
One of the group, Ronan McLaughlin, said they had managed to sleep on a friend’s floor.
“It’s just a little bit of a shock. When we arrived the police were here and told us the place did not have the proper licence.”
A campsite in Gdansk was also closed, while sites operated by the company in Warsaw and Wroclaw were not completed and will not be open during the championships.
Irish fans have made bookings for all four sites.
Management at Hotelioni issued a statement saying alternative accommodation would be made available to those affected.
“For economic reasons in Warsaw and Wroclaw, we were unable to build football camps and we will provide alternative accommodation. We are very sorry for the inconvenience,” a company statement noted.
The firm blamed a media campaign and hostile local authorities for the Poznan and Gdansk closures.
The company was yesterday asking supporters to contact it to make alternative arrangements or to travel to the camp where they would be redirected to alternative campsites.
Fans were to have a tent, mattress and sleeping bag awaiting them when they arrived at the campsite.
Separately, businessman Denis O’Brien came to the aid of a Dublin fan, Harry Ward, who returned to his tent at a Poznan campsite early on Saturday morning to find it burgled. His passport, travel tickets, wallet, money, credit cards, camera, and match tickets for yesterday’s game and the upcoming game against Spain had all been stolen.
When details of his dilemma were broadcast by Marian Finucane on her Saturday RTÉ Radio 1 programme, the billionaire businessman got in touch, and within a short time had organised three tickets for last night’s game.