The French authorities attribute the chaos in the Champions League final to “more than 70%” of Liverpool fans with counterfeit tickets and ask UEFA for a “very detailed” investigation
Minimal self-criticism on the part of the French authorities. The Minister of Sports, the Minister of the Interior, UEFA and the French Football Federation met in Paris on Monday to discuss the reasons for the chaos in the hours leading up to the Champions League final in Saint-Denis, on the northern outskirts of the French capital. After Saturday’s embarrassment – a game that began with more than half an hour late, human avalanches, fans jumping fences and trying to sneak in and the police launching tear gas—, the time has come to explain. However, the ministers gave the impression that they themselves do not know the exact reasons for what happened.
“We have asked for a very detailed investigation to UEFA to know what happened & rdquor ;, assured the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, in the press conference after the meeting. Although the leaders did not offer a detailed description of what happened or the causes, they did coincide in designating the origin of the evil: the fake tickets.
“There was a massive, industrial and organized fraud of false entries & rdquor ;, said the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. “Between 30,000 and 40,000 English fans turned up without tickets or with false tickets & rdquor ;, he added, accepting the UEFA version as good, but answered by the “red” team, the British Government, as well as numerous journalists and testimonies present around the Stade de France.
“More than 70% of false entries & rdquor;
Even Darmanin ventured to give the figure of “more than 70% of false entries & rdquor ;. If this were true, it would mean that some 40,000 English fans tried to sneak into the stadium with counterfeit tickets acquired by resale or otherwise. But since the minister did not give more details about this very high figure, it is difficult not to doubt its veracity. Could so many fake bills have been sold in the resale, whose prices are astronomical? Who is behind this “massive” scam? and “industrial”? Or was the minister really wrong and gave an inaccurate figure? Did he even lie to throw balls out after the ridicule made by the country that should host the 2024 Olympics? Numerous questions remain about 48 hours after the chaotic finale.
“There was no large scale false ticket fraud. There were quite a few touts in Paris and around the Stade de France on match day, it was the usual proportions for a final of this kind. The figure of between 30,000 and 40,000 fans with fake tickets I find it delusional”, responded Ronan Evain, general director of the association Football Supporters Europe, present at the stadium for an observation task for UEFA.
“We must improve & rdquor;
Another of the compelling reasons for the incidents on Saturday was the poor organization of the French Football Federation, which offered few indications to the English fans on their arrival by public transport at the Stade de France, which favored their accumulation in a single access door and thus endless queues formed, to the point that one of the security cordons ended up dissolving and one of the access doors was closed. Added to this were groups of young French people and migrants who dedicated themselves to making a mess of it, robbing the fans and trying to sneak into the stadium. Currently, there are only 15 detainees for the incidents that occurred, none of them British.
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“That this match was organized at the Stade de France was a decision made just three months ago —Initially it was planned to be in St. Petersburg, but the venue changed due to the invasion of Ukraine. Normally, it takes between twelve and eighteen months to organize a match of this dimension & rdquor ;, Darmanin defended himself, who was especially critical of the English fans and even reproached the coach Jürgen Klopp for having emboldened them to come to Paris even if they did not have a ticket.
More conciliatory was the Minister of Sports, who must manage this fiasco ten days after his appointment. “We must improve in the organization of risky matches & rdquor ;, declared Oudéa-Castéra, after a season marked by numerous incidents on soccer fields in France. She recognized an improvable performance in “the management of flows at the exit of public transport & rdquor; or in “amateur filtering”. She also announced compensation for the 2,700 Liverpool fans who were unable to enter the stadium despite having a legal entry, and on top of that many of them were gassed by the police. Without a doubt, the main victims of a chaotic final that shakes the government of Emmanuel Macron in the middle of the electoral period and threatens to strain the convulsive relations between Paris and London.