The trip to watch the start of this season’s Europa League group stage was uncommonly hassle-free, and Liverpool fans have paid appreciation to LASK and the city of Linz for their hospitality.
Thursday’s 3-1 victory over Thomas Sageder’s team by the Reds marked the beginning of their European campaign, but the away crowd was also ecstatic.
Travelers to watch Liverpool in previous years have encountered problems with overbearing law enforcement, awful facilities, and trouble from rival fans.
The trip to Linz this week, however, couldn’t have been more different, making the trip to Austria pleasurable for everyone who went.
Police were present in Linz, but they were merely strolling the streets, observing us, grinning, and taking pleasure in the fact that Liverpool were in town. They were giggling, making jokes, and snapping pictures.
“And when we got down there, there were no batons, no armored stormtroopers, no military police checkpoints outside.
Fans were permitted to interact with one another; we spoke to a number of them as the bus approached and found them to be a lot of fun. Simply put, they were overjoyed to see us.
Most importantly, we were released at full-time and were simply able to stroll back without any obstacles.
“Unlike so many other places, it was just humane treatment.”
Unlike prior trips to Europe, Liverpool did not ask fans to pick up their game tickets when traveling through Austria.
The best instance was Inter versus Benfica, where you had to wait hours outside a hotel to obtain a ticket that you could print off at home.
Let’s hope that after visits to Saint-Gilles and Toulouse, something similar is mentioned.
