SussexWorld reporters Mark Dunford and Sam Morton went to Italy to cover Brighton and Hove Albion's Europa League tie with Roma. They explored Rome searching for Albion fans, went to the pre-match press conference, ate good food, and of course, went o the game before a gruelling 8 hour journey back to Milan to catch a flight to Gatwick. Here is a diary of their journey, including interviewing a victim of an attack by a masked gang.
00:00 Hiya, Mark Dunford here from Sussex World. I've got my passport, shut down the computer,
00:08 is packed and I'm now ready to go to Rome. Brighton vs Roma in the Europa League last
00:16 16. So see you there if you're Brighton fans and yeah, here's my journey.
00:22 So I've just left my home, now walking to the bus stop to get to Gatwick. Going to the
00:29 North Terminal where I'll meet my other reporter Sam Morton, who's going to be in Rome with
00:34 me as we follow the Brighton fans around, follow the team news, got a live blog going.
00:42 So yeah, there'll be a video highlights package at the end of this, so hopefully you'll enjoy
00:47 the journey. [Sounds of traffic] [Sounds of traffic] [Sounds of traffic] [Sounds of
00:55 traffic] [Sounds of traffic] [Sounds of traffic] [Sounds of traffic] [Sounds of traffic]
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01:30 So just here outside departures at Gatwick North Terminal and Sam Morton is
01:36 just arriving. How excited are you Sam? Are you excited? Good stuff, excellent.
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04:07 Off to you. Thank you.
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04:35 We made it to Rome. The time is half past 11 and now we are going to go and find our hotel.
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05:18 So here we go, we are going to go and have a look at the Coliseum and find some Brighton fans.
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05:44 What's up Charlie? Must be a pinch yourself kind of moment. Yeah it is, it's ridiculous.
05:51 We've been to Rome, we've been to South France, we've been to Amsterdam and Athens now.
05:57 Couldn't have asked for a better tour really.
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06:14 I'm Alan. I'm Annette.
06:16 We both went to Ireland and I've been away again. I don't care about the results, being in Europe, being in Amsterdam, it's absolutely amazing.
06:25 How do you see this one going in Rome? It's going to be a tough one, very tough.
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09:21 Yeah, I think it's a beautiful city. I was here before, one year ago. I like the city a lot. The movie 'Cadillac' is one of my favourite movies.
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10:55 I'm okay. I'm more concerned about my two other friends, to be honest. I feel like what happened to them was a lot worse. I'm a little bit nervous, a little bit shook up, but I'm okay. I'm not too bad.
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15:09 Hi there, Mark Dunford here with Sam Morton. We're in Milan, we got off our eight-hour coach journey from Rome straight after the game last night where Brighton were humbled 4-0 in their last 16 Europa League first leg tie against Roma.
15:23 Sam, where did it all go wrong for Brighton last night?
15:26 Yeah, it was a tough one, Mark. It was one that didn't go well from first whistle really. I think it started to be a bit of an end to it in game. I think Roma were having such big chances straight away and then Lukaku had a heady chance very early on that was saved brilliantly by Jason Steele.
15:44 But straight away you felt what was coming defensively, they weren't fully up to scratch and they did quickly concede that first goal.
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17:31 Right Sam, we've got home. It's been emotional. Thank you for your work and your effort these last few days. So yeah, see you Monday. Have a good day on the shift tomorrow.
17:42 Cheers Mark.
17:43 Cheers.
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18:09 So that's it. I'm back home from Rome. Oh my hair is an absolute mess. Yeah, it's been a long old journey. It started getting an Uber from the Stadio Olimpico to the Tibertina bus station at 10.45 last night and then an eight hour coach trip to Milan.
18:31 Then a shuttle from Milan to Milan Malpensa and then flown into Gatwick and now I'm back home. So yeah, it's been a great trip. Shame about the result but the whole experience for Brighton fans, I know a lot were upset by the performance and the result but it's an incredible experience for the fans and it was an incredible experience for us as journalists as well covering of Sussex World.
18:58 We did the live blog. We did an exclusive video interview with Joe Forbes, one of the fans who was attacked by a masked gang. Two of his friends were stabbed. So it's been, yeah, it was really interesting talking to him and it was, it can be a scary place and I know people are calling for UEFA to do something about it and they should because fans shouldn't be scared for their life going to watch football shows.
19:27 But yeah, overall a wonderful experience and tired and cone. So I hope you enjoyed this little video diary and yes, keep following all the latest Brighton news at Sussexworld.co.uk.
