Man City fan shares Istanbul horror story that ended with broken leg and a hospital bed soaked with urine

A disabled Manchester City fan whose Champions League final experience ended with a broken leg and a traumatic Turkish hospital experience has spoken out about her nightmare trip.

As City players and fans celebrated the historic treble, Clare Watson was left sitting in her own urine for hours after falling on the hellish rubble path leading to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

The football fan has had to spend six weeks off work and left £10,000 out of pocket after the famous European night and her story has been shared by sports disability charity Level Playing Field, who demand answers from UEFA.

Clare suffered a leg break in two places in an incident that took place as she tried to avoid vehicles on the rubble path to the stadium - a treacherous route other fans had previously spoken out about.

Requiring emergency hospital treatment, Turkish medical bills left and rearranged flights left the supporter having to pay more than £10,000 - with some of that sum impossible to claim back.

Clare said: “It was atrocious. We were forced to leave our taxi to the ground by police, due to a road closure, despite the taxi driver making it clear they had two disabled passengers. From that point, we were left to walk down the motorway with other fans and no way finders in sight.

“We then got onto a path of what I can only describe as a sort of building site rubble, with some vehicles allowed down there too. There was a bus on the far side and a car stopped on the path, with another bus coming towards me. I was frightened and tried to move out of the way but tripped on an uneven pile of rubble.

“It was then clear from the pain that I needed an ambulance, but they would not allow my grandchildren to come with me.

“Once at the hospital, I was told the severity of the injury and that I would need surgery. I was moved to another hospital for the operation the following afternoon but was ignored and received no other attention for hours on end.

“Lying there in my own urine, soaking wet, was the most upsetting part of the experience.”

Clare eventually flew home and received further treatment from North Manchester A&E. Now, the City fan lives with a metal rod in her leg.

Level Playing Field wrote to UEFA in the week following the final, to demand accountability for their failure to accommodate disabled supporters. The charity is still awaiting a response.

Level Playing Field fans liaison officer Liam Bird said: “It has been awful to hear the accounts of so many disabled supporters who have been impacted by UEFA's failings at another Champions League final.

“Clare’s story is particularly shocking, and we are all feeling for her. Everyone at Level Playing Field is thankful to those who have shared their experiences with us. They will be used to bring about desperately needed change.

“There is a clear lack of respect for fans and lessons have not been learned a year on from Paris. We ask again, for accountability from UEFA and more insight from stadium appraisals.

“Next year's final will be held at Wembley Stadium and will undoubtedly provide better, but this lottery of access and inclusion on which year your team gets to the final cannot continue. UEFA need to engage with organisations with expertise in disability access and inclusion, as well as disabled supporters themselves when planning all showpiece events.”