Byrne sees old narrative
Liverpool MP Ian Byrne was also appalled. “We’re back in time to 1989 when lies and slander about Hillsborough spread very quickly and this narrative was set.”, Byrne told Sky News. The 1989 Hillsborough disaster killed 97 Liverpool fans and injured hundreds when too many supporters swarmed during the semi-final match FA Cup between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the Hillsborough Stadium poured into a block in Sheffield. The police blamed hooligans. But later it became known that the security forces had made serious mistakes.
Looking ahead to the final in Paris, Byrne (Labour party) said he was “completely appalled” been. “There were people who had been waiting (to get in) for three and a half hours, who were surrounded, who were pepper sprayed and tear gas used – this was a football event.”said the politician. “UEFA and the French authorities should be ashamed of what happened on Saturday night.” Liverpool lost the final against Real Madrid 0-1.
The police in Paris registered more than 100 arrests and 230 injuries around the final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid. UEFA explained the chaos at the entrance to the large number of fans without valid tickets. The turnstiles at the entrance for Liverpool fans were blocked because thousands of supporters with fake tickets could not go through them. The police used tear gas. The kick-off time was pushed back by more than half an hour. Fan representatives criticize a one-sided representation by UEFA.
France’s sport minister blames British fans
France’s sports minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, sees British football fans as primarily responsible. 30,000 to 40,000 were without a ticket or with fake tickets to the Stade de France pushed and would have caused massive security problems there, the minister told the “RTL” broadcaster in Paris. It still needs to be clarified where the counterfeit tickets came from in such large numbers. The minister also accused Liverpool FC of not taking good care of their fans like Real Madrid and leaving them to their own devices.
The minister regretted the use of tear gas, which also affected uninvolved fans, families and children. At the same time, she confirmed that France was able to organize major sporting events and referred to the 2016 European Football Championship.
All lessons should be learned from Saturday night’s events, also with a view to the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games in France. Together with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, Oudéa-Castéra wanted to take part in a crisis meeting on Monday morning to deal with the chaos at the Stade de France.
Source: dpa