Football match at Olympic stadium

catfish78 · Post by **catfish78** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:35 am

Last football match I went to at the Olympic stadium was a freindly (Spain-Finland). I am going to the Germany v Finland match and have a question. At the previous match I found no vendors selling beer/spirits, nothing. Was that typical or were the vendors just not interested in selling at a low turnout match? Will there be alcohol vendors at this match? Or should I smuggle in a flask?

May sound odd, but I enjoy a beer or 8 while watching a football match.

cheers

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MagicJ · Post by **MagicJ** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 11:25 am

A friend was at the Finn-Swe athletics yesterday and bought beer, you just weren't allowed to take it to your seat. I assume beer will be readily available at football but someone will come along and give you a definitive answer in a bit.....

john_smullen · Post by **john_smullen** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:51 pm

I went to the finland Kaza world cup qualifier last year and no beer was available in the olympic stadium.

FFCBOY · Post by **FFCBOY** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:51 pm

Been to many Finnish matches here and unfortunatly none of the places sell beer and they are pretty sh"t hot on searching for hidden bottles etc..

Is the Germany game sold out??? i heard they have released some extra tickets 45e each is this right...
Anyone traveling to the Wales match in march??

John L. · Post by **John L.** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:44 pm

Sorry, "Catfish," no alcohol allowed! This is Finland!

Even at ice hockey games, beer is sold yes, but you have to go to a special pen for that, and quite often that is in a place where you cannot watch the game live, except maybe from a TV. According to the Finnish Alcohol Law, you cannot serve alcohol everywhere. It can only be sold at designated areas (clearly marked, usually with a fence and a big security guard making sure no children enter), not freeely in a clowd like you would expect back in the US. It's not just Finland, it's the same if not even more strict in other Scandinavian countries.

I guess it's a thing about sports being serious athletics with having nothing to do with alcohol as well as not giving our children the impression that drinking alcohol might be enjoyable for some of us? Read = government is everywhere here. Whether that's a good thing or not. I don't know, but it's a part of Northern Exposure!

otyikondo · Post by **otyikondo** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:25 am

John L. wrote:Sorry, "Catfish," no alcohol allowed! This is Finland!

Even at ice hockey games, beer is sold yes, but you have to go to a special pen for that, and quite often that is in a place where you cannot watch the game live, except maybe from a TV. According to the Finnish Alcohol Law, you cannot serve alcohol everywhere. It can only be sold at designated areas (clearly marked, usually with a fence and a big security guard making sure no children enter), not freeely in a clowd like you would expect back in the US. It's not just Finland, it's the same if not even more strict in other Scandinavian countries.

I guess it's a thing about sports being serious athletics with having nothing to do with alcohol as well as not giving our children the impression that drinking alcohol might be enjoyable for some of us? Read = government is everywhere here. Whether that's a good thing or not. I don't know, but it's a part of Northern Exposure!

Blah-blah-blah. Have stick, will beat any government...

All possibly quite true, but I wouldn't mind betting that the bottom line is UEFA doan 'low no drinkin' roun' here. And last I looked, they were in Nyon, Switzerland, not Naantali or Nurmes.

A simple search on the UEFA site turns up this unequivocal paragraph:

4.3.5 Sales of Beverages in the Stadium
No public sale or distribution of alcohol is permitted within the stadium or its private
environs. All alcohol-free drinks which are sold or distributed must be dispensed in
paper or open plastic containers which could not be used in any dangerous
manner.

Another in another place (the official info on Euro 2008 coming out of Switzerland and Austria) reveals this:

According to the UEFA security guidelines, the serving of alcoholic beverages will be prohibited in the stadiums.

Now the Finnish authorities will probably go right along with this gladly, but in practice they wouldn't have any choice...

Because of course, UEFA (as the European arm of FIFA) is running the show for this game.

Not Matti Vanhanen or Anne Holmlund.

catfish78 · Post by **catfish78** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:46 am

Oh well, just will have to watch the match with a nice frosty pop instead. Should be a fun match to watch regardless.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:04 am

on the many levels of fun...with this weather I think one should have a double helping of anti-freeze in the system

catfish78 · Post by **catfish78** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:16 am

I will have to fill the radiator before I get to the stadium.

TampereOwl · Post by **TampereOwl** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:25 pm

john_smullen wrote:I went to the finland Kaza world cup qualifier last year and no beer was available in the olympic stadium.

I'm not surprised, everyone else went to see that game in Tampere.

Best thing to do is sneak in a little bottle in your kecks. They don't tend to frisk you down there.

john_smullen · Post by **john_smullen** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:33 pm

TampereOwl wrote:
john_smullen wrote:I went to the finland Kaza world cup qualifier last year and no beer was available in the olympic stadium.
I'm not surprised, everyone else went to see that game in Tampere.

Best thing to do is sneak in a little bottle in your kecks. They don't tend to frisk you down there.

Oops Azerwhatever I meant

ChubbyPoacher · Post by **ChubbyPoacher** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:58 pm

Don't know about the searchers being !"#¤% hot.
For the Serbia game I simply popped my bottle of coke (I refuse to pay those in-stadium prices cos I'm a tight-arse) in the pocket on the flap of my shoulder bag (the zip pocket on those Marimekko ones). They looked inside the bag but not in the flap pocket.
The security at FC Honka games make this same mistake

So, my advice is to stitch a hipflask of suomiviina into the lining of your long-underwear and blame the funny walk on haemerrhoids.
Once inside, buy a big-gulp of pop, mix to taste, and away!

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