Before and after the Champions League final there were incidents and disorganization. Photo: REUTERS/Vincent West
Far from making self -criticism for the chaos unleashed at the entrances to the Stade de France and caused the delay of the Champions League finals between Real Madrid and Liverpool, the French government on Monday blamed the English for “disorganization” allowing. that thousands of fans traveled without tickets to Paris and denounced a “massive fraud” with fake tickets.
“We regret the disorganization where between 30,000 and 40,000 British fans without tickets or with fake tickets came to the Stade de Franca,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.
In addition, “a massive, industrial-scale and organized fraud of fake tickets has been found,” Darmanin added in a press conference after a meeting of more than two hours with the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra , and other responsible authorities.of the party management.
French Sports Minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera, is acting in front of her Interior counterpart, Gerald Darmanin. Photo: AFP
Added to the access problems was the action of organized groups of local criminals who committed violent theft of fans outside the stadium. There were a total of 77 detainees for these events, according to authorities.
The head of the Interior Ministry recalled that the tickets were electronic but “at the request of UEFA” printed bills were accepted, “which opened up the possibility of fraud.”
He explained that, in the area of entrance controls for Liverpool fans, “over 70% of entries are incorrect”which resulted in the development of problems in the security system to the point that riot police intervention was needed.
Many Liverpool fans were scammed and bought fake tickets. Photo: Reuters
He also lamented that fans, including families with children, suffered the consequences of tear gas, and acknowledged that he watched videos of French police using gas “unnecessarily and disproportionately.”
In any case, he assured without the decisions made by the authorities “certainly” he would have to “regret the dead and wounded”.
Darmanin recalled that in the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid, “the same problem” had already occurred from thousands of British fans who traveled without incident.
About 2,700 fans will not be able to enter the stadium despite having tickets, Oudéa-Castéra reported, which advanced that there would be “compensation” for those affected, although did not provide further details.
The game was delayed by 36 minutes due to incidents that took place outside the stadium. Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
No drama for the Spaniards
The two ministers stressed that these incidents took place in access areas for English fans. “There’s no problem on the Spanish side,” said Darmanin, who noted that at the start of the game 87% of Real Madrid fans were on the stand, compared to just 50% of Liverpool fans. “Real Madrid’s organization is very different with its fans”specified the head of Sports.
“The disorganization of the arrival of British fans by their club made it complicated,” insisted Darmanin, who partly blamed the strike, that day, on the commuter train line heading to the stadium and also linking the two Paris airport. .
Another issue is about criminal groups that launch themselves in an organized and violent way to rob the fans of both teams. Authorities arrested 77 people for these events in the town of Saint Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, where the stadium is located.
After these incidents and as the legislative elections approached (June 12 and 19), opposition parties targeted the Interior Minister, one of the government’s heavyweights, who enjoys the absolute confidence of President Emmanuel Macron.
Blow up France
More importantly, Saturday’s failure was a serious blow to France’s prestige as the organizer of major sporting events, as next year it will host the Rugby World Cup and, most importantly, the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The feeling of excitement and insecurity (both because of the risk of mass murder and criminals) is so overwhelming that some witnesses say they fear for their lives.
All this despite the device of more than 6,800 police and soldiers deployed by the French authorities to guarantee the safety of the meeting. Of them, 2,000 in and around the stadium.
“There were groups of 20 to 30 masked people, dressed in black, who committed thefts throughout the stadium area. (…) They took all the fans as a target, ”a police officer told the BFMTV news channel.
One of the keys may be that different actors have their share to blame: Liverpool fans who travel without tickets; those with fake tickets; organized criminals; poor organization of the access system, poor police action, which sometimes acted against peaceful fans …
Therefore, each of the parties (UEFA, French Federation, Liverpool, Ministry of the Interior …) has arguments to blame the other and thus tries to justify their responsibility.
“Incompetence, lies and denial”was leading an opinion column in the sports newspaper L’Equipe, which stated that all of these co-organizers were “very lucky to be both responsible for the excitement and not the drama”.
For Liverpool and its fans, an entity marked by tragedy in Hillsborough where 97 fans were crushed to death against fences in 1989, Saturday’s scenes were a reminder of the dangers of managing most sporting events.
The UK claims
The British government on Monday called for a full investigation into the treatment received by English club Liverpool fans ahead of the Champions League finals against Real Madrid in Paris, which London described as “disturbing and frustrating”.
“We know a lot of Liverpool fans traveled to Paris on time to support their team in one of the biggest games of the season and we were extremely disappointed with how they were treated,” said a spokesman for Downing Street, the official residence of the British. prime minister.Boris Johnson.
“Fans deserve to know what happened, so we urge UEFA to work closely with the French authorities on a full investigation” and “publish their findings,” the official added. British spokesman.
According to the London Government, some fans who got tickets through the club were unable to enter the stadium.
“That is exactly why we need a full investigation into what happened,” the spokesman insisted, adding that UEFA had justified the delay of the match against the late arrival of fans.
“That’s inconsistent with the experience of many who are outside the stadium, so we need a full investigation to get to the bottom of what happened.”
Source: EFE
Source: Clarin
