A group of England fans making their way over land to Germany for Euro 2024 have opened up about the moment they found three asylum seekers hiding in their campervan in Calais.
The quartet of Three Lions faithful – Tristan Dallison, 22, Fin McGregor and Ben Dolan, both 24, and Matthew Browne, 25, had journeyed hundreds of miles from Scarborough in North Yorkshire to France when they made the shocking discovery.
The group had just crossed the English Channel when they stopped in the French port town to pick up supplies at a local supermarket – but when one of the four came back to their campervan, they realised it had been broken into.
24-year-old McGregor said: “We went to the supermarket and came back to find the toilet door locked,” speaking to the Telegraph.
The group of fans had just crossed the English Channel when they stopped in the French port town
PA
Inside the foursome’s campervan? Three would-be asylum seekers, attempting to enter the UK.
McGregor continued: “There were three lads in there. They laughed and smiled and poured out of the camper van.
“We checked the doors – they must have got in through the roof.”
Another of the England supporters, Dolan, detailed how they had found their vehicle’s toilet door barred from the inside, and were left stunned by the “mental” discovery of the three men inside.
MORE AS ENGLAND FANS DESCEND ON GERMANY:
The Three Lions faithful have been in full voice ahead of tonight’s kick-off against Serbia
Reuters
But in an unfortunate turn of events for the prospective migrants, the fans revealed they were driving in the wrong direction.
Dolan said: “They said hello and they were smirking and just walked away… We were on our way to Belgium and these guys could be in the toilet. We were going totally the wrong way!”
The fan foursome finally turned up in host city Gelsenkirchen on Saturday afternoon – the day before England’s Euros opener against Serbia at 8pm UK time tonight.
Though these travelling supporters were left more bemused than threatened by their run-in in Calais, Three Lions fans fearing under threat in their first game have been reassured they can use a code word to alert German authorities to any danger.
Gareth Southgate’s side will be hoping to win Euro 2024 this summer in what could be the England boss’s final run-out with his country
Reuters
Fans in attendance at England vs Serbia can ask German authorities overseeing the tournament “Wo geht’s nach PANAMA? [Which way to PANAMA?]” if crowd troubles begin to stir, the Telegraph revealed just days ago.
Staff at games, upon the mention of PANAMA, have been told to “immediately offer the possibility of a place to retreat” for anyone who speaks up.
Any under-threat supporters can expect a “multilingual, multi-professional team which is trained in crisis intervention, non-violent communication and de-escalation” to step in and cool things down”.
Gareth Southgate’s men will be looking to put their pre-tournament woes behind them later this evening as England – featuring, for the first time in years, star players from Europe’s greatest club sides – take to the field in Germany against a tough Serbian side.
Source Agencies
