DW: What exactly went wrong in the Champions League final and why? UEFA blames the fans who had fake or no tickets. The fans, on the other hand, complain about not having come to the stadium with valid tickets and about the excessive harshness of the police. How was it now?
Michael Gabriel: There are very clear indications that there must have been major organizational shortcomings in directing the fans to the stadium and then in organizing the admission controls. As a result, UEFA’s first official suggestion that the game was delayed because fans arrived late at the stadium does not correspond to reality. Liverpool FC fans were at the stadium in good time, some even three hours before the game started. However, they encountered conditions there that had a fairly high risk potential.
What were those conditions?
Lanes, in some cases ten meters wide, were artificially narrowed by the police. Admission areas were closed for no apparent reason. At the front there was no further progress, more and more people were moving up behind. This created a pressure situation in which there was no information. There was also no way to go to the toilet or to get water. This very bad organization before the game was confirmed by many sides.
UEFA justified the delay in the kick-off of the Champions League final with the late arrival of the fans
And the second aspect with the counterfeit tickets – that’s where UEFA speaks, apparently based on information from the police, yes thousands. Every major international tournament and every major international final has this aspect: people trying to get into the stadium with invalid tickets. Organizers have to be prepared for this and usually are. Not just them from UEFA but also the number given by the French Minister of Sport, it is very surprising. And as far as I know, there is no evidence for this high number. It has also been suspected that this is an easy excuse.
But there are also photos of fans who climbed over the fences.
Yes, and if you look closely, on the one hand you can see that it wasn’t Liverpool fans, but rather young people, probably from France, who tried to get into the stadium without tickets. On the other hand, there are also examples where English fans have done that.
I assume most of them had tickets, then probably heard the music and assumed it was about to start and then they were dying to see the game. They wanted to somehow get into the stadium amidst the chaotic conditions.
Criticism of the police and UEFA
UEFA is the organizer of the tournament. But the police are of course also responsible for security and are probably also very sensitive, especially in Paris, where there have been several terrorist attacks in the past. What roles did these two organizations play? And who actually failed?
If one believes eyewitness reports on the ground, there is criticism of both organizations. Not just at UEFA, but also at their local partners, without whom a game like this couldn’t be organized. We have already spoken about the major organizational mistakes during admission.
But there was also great criticism of the use of the police. You were accused of a lack of communication, an inflexible and a disproportionately harsh approach. For example, police officers used pepper gas against fans standing outside the stadium behind the fence.
Approach routes, controls and communication on site did not work – should such finals be given to other stadiums? Frankfurt had also complained that the stadium in Seville for the Europa League final was far too small for the huge fan interest?
There is hardly a better stadium for hosting such a game than the Stade de France. Other games of this magnitude have already taken place there. UEFA has fixed criteria that must be met for a city or stadium to be able to host a game like this. In my opinion, there is no need to change anything about that. In both cases, organizational mistakes led to these problems.
In Paris, it was mainly the ticket control at the entrance and the access to the stadium. In Seville, all the fans got to the stadium on time. FC Sevilla regularly plays internationally. It is therefore difficult to explain why there were massive organizational deficiencies there as well. In Seville there were shortages in the supply of food and drink, especially water. And that at an outside temperature of 40 degrees. But here, too, the police misjudged the situation in some places and were unable to communicate adequately. Instead, batons were used.
Football fans are perceived rather negatively
Were the security authorities overwhelmed, were they perhaps even afraid of the many euphoric fans who actually only wanted to see a football game?
Yes, that is a good and central point. In both countries, fans are perceived more negatively than as a security risk. Not as guests whose needs you have to take care of, not as people who contribute to the overall work of art of such a game through their emotions and their songs. Instead of working in partnership with the fans, they react with authoritarian and repressive measures. That is perhaps even the fundamental problem.
What can UEFA do better?
In the last big UEFA finals – the European Championship final in Wembley, the Europa League final in Seville and now the Champions League final in Paris – there were major organizational flaws. UEFA should look into its own processes: which partners do I work with? What basic line do I set? I make people feel comfortable, that communication the fan experts of the clubs and the fan organizations is in the foreground? Or do I transfer all responsibility to local authorities and the security agencies, which obviously have some catching up to do in terms of communication?
There is an urgent need for a critical review within UEFA. This is what Liverpool FC are asking for in the Champions League final, as well as Eintracht Frankfurt and Glasgow Rangers, as well as the European fan organization “Football Supporters Europe” for the Europa League final in Seville. I find this understandable.
Michael Gabriel is a social worker and head of the Fan Projects Coordination Office (KOS). The KOS is the recognized interface between professional educational fan work, fan culture, social science and socio-political and sports-political institutions.
The interview was conducted by Olivia Gerstenberger.