Liverpool fans were unfairly blamed for the chaos which surrounded last season’s Champions League final in Paris to “divert attention” from the failure of the organisers, a French Senate report has found.
The Senate has heard from Reds supporters, along with French police and government officials and UEFA’s events director, Martin Kallen, since the match on May 28, which kicked off more than half an hour late.
France’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, initially laid the blame for the delays at the door of ticketless Liverpool supporters for the build-up of crowds at the perimeter of the Stade de France, with police also using tear gas on fans as they waited to gain entry.
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The provisional report of its findings, published on Wednesday, stated: “It is unfair to have wanted to make supporters of the Liverpool team bear the responsibility for the disturbances that occurred, as the Minister of the Interior did to divert attention from the inability of the state to adequately manage the crowds present and to curb the action of several hundred violent and co-ordinated (local) delinquents.”
It was welcomed by the Liverpool fans’ group Spirit of Shankly, which called for a full apology from the French government and the opening of a full parliamentary inquiry in France.
The report found the chaos had been caused by a “chain of events and malfunctions” in the days and hours leading up to kick-off.
It added: “The systems put in place had major shortcomings with regard to the intelligence (absence of hooligans but presence of delinquents in large numbers), the transport routes for supporters (removal of a drop-off route at the surroundings of the stadium) and insufficient communication.
“It is not only in the execution that problems arose. Upstream, the crisis scenarios were insufficiently worked on and did not demonstrate the necessary flexibility in the face of so many unanticipated events.”
The French senate report completely exonerates Liverpool fans over what happened at the Champions League final. Now, two things must happen:
1. A full formal apology from the French government published in French, English, and Spanish
2. A French parliamentary inquiry under oath— Daniel Austin (@_Dan_Austin) July 13, 2022
The Senate report said the French authorities must learn the lessons from the “serious collective failure” which had occurred and apply…
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