Liverpool fans cheer outside the stadium ahead of the UEFA Champions League final match in Paris, France on the 28th of last month. / Archyde.com
The aftermath of the UEFA Champions League final riot in Paris, France has not subsided. While French police authorities have identified fake tickets possessed by British fans as the cause of the commotion and are investigating, a report has emerged that the Paris police were aware of the existence of fake tickets in advance.
The UEFA Champions League final was held on the 28th (local time) at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. In the match between Real Madrid (Spain) and Liverpool FC (England), a prestigious European club, there was a lot of confusion over the position. Many fans were unable to enter the stadium, and the game was delayed by 40 minutes. When some fans tried to enter the stadium over the fence, Paris police sprayed tear gas and pepper spray to suppress it. There were also children’s fans outside the stadium, and there were criticisms of the French police’s unreasonable suppression. The British Prime Minister’s Office also issued a statement saying it was “an angry and worrisome thing”.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin held a press conference on the 30th of last month and blamed Liverpool FC fans with fake tickets as the cause of the situation. Minister Darmanin said that “two-thirds of the tickets offered by more than 62,000 Liverpool FC fans were fake”. This means that between 30,000 and 40,000 Liverpool FC fans came with fake tickets. Unlike Real Madrid, which distributed electronic tickets, Dharmanin said Liverpool provided paper tickets, which provided an excuse for a fraudulent play. French sports minister Amelie Udea Castella said: “Liverpool have failed to properly manage their fans.”
Liverpool FC chairman Tom Werner wrote a letter to Castella, calling for an apology as “irresponsible, unprofessional and rude”. The Guardian, a British daily, mentioned the beating of a black music producer by a white French police in November 2020 and analyzed that “the chronic over-repression problem between the French police and the military police has surfaced.”
French intelligence officials have warned police before the match that fake tickets could cause commotion. French intelligence authorities wrote a document on the 25th of last month stating that 50,000 British football fans would go to Paris without a ticket for the Champions League final, and that some could sneak into the stadium wearing the clothes of UEFA staff, sanitation workers and medical personnel. AFP news agency reported on the 31st that it had been handed over to the police. French police have launched an investigation into how fake tickets were distributed.
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