It was almost three weeks ago that the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) reported that it and the Munich municipal utilities were planning to rebuild the Odeonsplatz subway station, some of which are now more than 50 years old, in the coming years as part of the Munich subway’s basic renovation program years to modernize.
On Wednesday evening, around two hours before the kick-off of the Champions League game between FC Bayern and Benfica Lisbon, that subway station came into focus: football fans, it is said, should be on their way to the game in the Munich Arena Pyrotechnics ignited in a subway. A car apparently caught fire. The fire brigade and police had to arrive. There was also talk of a fire at the Marienplatz subway station.
“The train stations had to be cleared accordingly and cannot currently be accessed,” explains the press spokesman for the Munich transport company to “Sport1”.
Emergency medical intervention shortly after kick-off
Which resulted in travel chaos. Odeonsplatz is an important hub in Munich. There the lines U3/U6, which run in a north-south direction, cross the lines U4/U5 from west to east.
In addition, there was also a signal box malfunction at Kieferngarten train station in Munich – smooth rail traffic was no longer possible from 6:45 p.m. in the direction of Fröttmaning, where the arena is located.
Around an hour before the game, FC Bayern spoke up on social networks and asked to switch to other means of transport. Due to the rail problems and a traffic accident, getting there by car was also problematic because the streets were full. Shortly before the official start of the game at 9 p.m., the European association Uefa decided not to kick off the game until 15 minutes later.
When the game kicked off, it was quiet in the south corner. There was no organized support. The reason for this was an emergency doctor call-out in second place. Numerous rescue workers attended to an emergency in the stands in the second tier. Stewards held up a tarp to protect the person from the view of other onlookers. The only people who could be heard in the first half were the Benfica supporters who had traveled with them.
