Champions League
Problems entering the finals? France blamed it all on Liverpool fans, Real Madrid had no problem
Saturday’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool was supposed to be a celebration of football, but the start of the match was a great shame. A huge chaos broke out outside the stadium in Paris and all three parties – UEFA, Liverpool and the French government – are now blaming each other.
Saturday’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool was supposed to be a celebration of football, but the start of the match was a great shame. A huge chaos broke out outside the stadium in Paris and all three parties – UEFA, Liverpool and the French government – are now blaming each other.
The kick-off of the final was delayed by 35 minutes, the official Uefa statement was due to security. There was a huge chaos outside the stadium. Several Liverpool fans who had valid tickets were unable to get in, and the official ticket app stopped working.
On the other hand, several fraudsters with fake tickets or even a few troublemakers without tickets were trying to get into the Stade de France. They started jumping the gates, the poor organisation of UEFA made it all possible.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that massive ticket fraud had caused Liverpool fans to gather outside the stadium in a mass crowd from which some spectators with valid tickets could not get into the stadium.
The French sports minister blamed the initial chaos on fans with fake tickets and a few local youths who tried to get into the stadium without tickets.
“It is important to note that a large number of Liverpool fans gathered outside the stadium without tickets or with fake tickets. With such a large number, it is clear that some people will try to get into the stadium,” Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the sports minister, told France’s RTL radio.
She also added that there were no problems with Real Madrid fans as the Spanish outfit had them under better control than Liverpool. This is evidenced by the picture from the stadium at kick-off time, when the Los Blancos sector was full and the sectors reserved for the Reds were half empty.
The police subsequently started using pepper spray on the fans, which was heavily criticised by the public as there were young children in the crowd.
Source: BBC, MARCA