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‘Shambolic and dangerous’: Chaos at Stade de France mars Champions League final

There were chaotic scenes at the Champions League football final in Paris on Saturday night, with long queues, kick-off delayed, police firing tear-gas and youths trying to force their way into the stadium.

Published: 28 May 2022 22:26 CEST
Updated: 29 May 2022 14:38 CEST
'Shambolic and dangerous': Chaos at Stade de France mars Champions League final
Liverpool fans stand outside unable to get in in time leading to the match being delayed prior to the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on May 28, 2022. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)

The match between Real Madrid and Liverpool FC eventually got underway at 9.37pm, more than half an hour late, after chaotic scenes at the entry gates to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, just outside Paris. 

At the slated kick-off time of 9pm thousands of fans were still outside, with some having been queuing to get in for for more than two hours.

Problems are reported to have begun several hours before kick-off, with a pre-check of tickets and bags at the exit of the RER station at Stade de France turning into a dangerous bottleneck.

As the crush increased, the check was eventually waived, but many of the entry gates to the stadium were then closed after some people tried to force their way in.

Police then staged an intervention, including using tear gas, at the stadium after some fans tried to force their way into the ground, telling French media that the measure was “to repel attempts to intrude into the stadium”.

In a statement released just as the match ended, organisers UEFA blamed “Liverpool fans who had purchased fake tickets” for the chaos.

The statement read: “In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles.

“This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access.

“As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium.

“UEFA is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.”

Meanwhile Liverpool FC has called for an investigation, saying in a statement: “We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France.

“This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight.

“We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues.”

Football Supporters Europe, a lobbying group representing fans around the continent, hit back at the security arrangements.

“Fans at the Champions League final bear no responsibility for tonight’s fiasco,” it tweeted before the match finally got underway.

“Thousands are still trapped outside the stadium, remaining calm in the face of a completely unreasonable situation.

“We urge the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of all fans.”

Pierre Barthélemy a lawyer for French supporters clubs was at the Stade de France monitoring the organisation of the day.

He said the blame lay with lack of organisation, crowd management and lack of information for Liverpool fans coming out of RER D that ended up with them stuck in a bottle neck for two and a half hours.

“People could have died in a crush,” he told Le Parisien newspaper.

“I have to commend the Liverpool fans who remained well behaved despite the interminable wait, the lack of information and the tear gas,” he said.

Kelly Cates, the daughter of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, described the pre-match scenes outside France’s national stadium as “absolutely shambolic”.

“No way in, no way of knowing which way to go. Stay safe if you’re heading in,” Cates posted on her Twitter account.

Several eye witnesses including journalists said those trying to force their way into the ground were local youths.

One French police union Synergie-Officiers said: “Hordes of thugs came en masse to rob and assault supporters.”

Several videos posted on social media showed people either climbing over fences or trying to force their way into the stadium.

However Liverpool fans who had tickets were caught up in the chaos, with police spraying tear gas at fans waiting outside – including children.

An AFP journalist on the scene reported that about 20 people succeeding in getting into the ground.

Many of the seats in the official Liverpool end of the ground remained empty 25 minutes after the scheduled start time. Kick-off was delayed twice, with an in-ground announcement saying it was down to “fans arriving late” while UEFA said they delay was “due to a security issue”.

British football pundit Gary Lineker was among those stuck in the crowds outside, tweeting that he was “finding it impossible to get into the ground”.

France’s Interior minister Gérald Darmanin also weighed into the argument, blaming British fans.

He tweeted: “Thousands of British ‘fans’, without tickets or with fake tickets have forced the entrances and, sometimes, behaved violently towards stewards. Thank you to the many police forces mobilised tonight in this difficult context.”

Darmanin’s statement was ridiculed by many on Twitter who posted videos of local youths trying to get into the ground.

In a statement, the Paris police chief also blamed fans with no tickets or fake tickets for the chaos, claiming that their interventions had been to “restore order and remove those causing a disturbance”.

Paris police came in for sharp criticism for their actions, especially the use of tear gas on fans outside the grounds.

The statement from police said that “fans were dispersed without difficulty”, adding that there had been no major incidents in either of the two fan zones.

However fans reported being tear gassed at the fanzone at the Cour de Vincennes whilst there were also images of French police wading in with batons to break up a fight on a cafe terrace.

Paris police said there were 68 arrests in total in Paris and in Saint-Denis throughout the day including one man found with scores of fake tickets.

There were also scores of reports on Twitter of fans being mugged and attacked on the way home from the stadium by gangs of youths.

As estimated 60,000 Liverpool fans had travelled to Paris, most without tickets. Each club was allocated just 20,000 tickets for the 80,000-seater Stade de France.

The city of Paris had set up fan zones for fans without tickets – at Nation for Liverpool supporters and Saint-Denis for Real Madrid supporters. Both of these reached their full capacity before kick-off.

The match ended in a 1-0 win for the Spanish team.

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SPORT

France football star Thuram takes stand against far right ahead of elections

France forward Marcus Thuram on Saturday called on voters in the country to "fight" to stop the far right coming to power in upcoming snap elections.

Published: 15 June 2024 17:20 CEST
France football star Thuram takes stand against far right ahead of elections

Thuram is the first member of the France squad at Euro 2024 to take a clear position against the far-right National Rally (RN) ahead of legislative elections for the French National Assembly.

“I think the situation is sad and very serious,” the 26-year-old forward with Italian champions Inter Milan told reporters in Paderborn, where the 2022 World Cup runners-up are based during the Euros in Germany.

President Emmanuel Macron has called elections with the first round set for June 30 and the second round on July 7.

He announced the snap poll last Sunday in response to the results of the EU elections, in which far-right parties — including the top-scoring RN — managed to take almost 40 percent of the vote in France.

The French squad, the majority of whom come from an immigrant background, had been playing a friendly match against Canada at the same time as Macron made his announcement.

“I heard about it after the match against Canada. We were all a bit shocked in the dressing room.

“We need to tell everyone to get out and vote, to fight every day to stop the RN winning,” added Thuram, who is preparing with his teammates for their first European Championship game against Austria on Monday.

Other France players, notably Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud, had already publicly called on their compatriots to go out and vote in the elections, but had not taken as clear a stand as Thuram.

“I hope that everyone shares my opinion. It is not enough to say that you need to go out and vote. We need to explain how we have got to where we are,” he said.

“I don’t think it should be very difficult to talk about. It is the way I have been educated.

“I know a lot of people follow me on social media and I have an obligation to get certain messages across,” added Thuram, whose father Lilian won the World Cup with France in 1998 and is well-known for his campaigning against racism.

“Having grown up with my father I feel a responsibility to get this message across.”

Of his teammates in the France squad, Thuram added: “I have no doubt at all that everyone in the France squad thinks the same way as me.

“I am not here to force anyone to say anything even if it is what they think.

“Thanks to my father I have enough of an understanding of this situation to be able to talk about it.”

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