Blame for the distressing scenes experienced by Liverpool fans at the Champions League finals needs to be laid “where it belongs” after French ministers sought to double down on accusations that problems were caused by thousands of fans with fake tickets.
Speaking to French news channel France 24, West Derby MP Ian Byrne said that the events outside the Stade de France last Saturday - where fans were forced to wait for hours in a tight underpass, were pepper sprayed and also assaulted and robbed - were down to “ineptitude” and a “shambolic” set up by authorities, rather than the fault of fans.
His comments came after French interior minister Gerald Darmanin and sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra were questioned by the French senate yesterday afternoon about the events that took place around the Champions League Final. Mr Darmanin had previously claimed that as many as 40,000 ticketless fans had attempted to gain entry to the stadium, but reduced this figure to the region of 3,000 when speaking at the hearing yesterday.
READ MORE: French ministers branded 'disgrace' as they double down on fake ticket claims
He also claimed to have received a police memo suggesting that there would be no trouble with Real Madrid fans, but that hundreds of Liverpool fans would attempt to push through turnstiles - an accusation that has been refuted by those on the ground, noting how it was mainly locals who were instead trying to scale the gates. Speaking afterward, Ms Oudéa-Castera said that there was only a “short amount of time to prepare for the final and suggested Liverpool fans posed a “very specific risk to us”. Numerous Liverpool fans and journalists reacted with disbelief when hearing the slurs.
In response, when speaking to France 24, West Derby MP Ian Byrne said Mr Darmanin was merely carrying out a “back covering exercise” and he had never experienced “anything so hostile” as he did outside of the Stade de France.
He added: “If France and Paris bid for this game, they should have been ready to police that game in a humane manner. And treat Liverpool and Madrid fans not like hooligans and like animals.
“The scenes, the policing and the security was down to ineptitude and a shambolic set up. Let’s lay the blame firmly where it belongs to be laid - the French authorities, the police and UEFA.
“The whole of Paris, the whole of France, everyone who loves football should be questioning what the French interior minister is saying."
Outside of the ground, many Liverpool fans were targeted by French police with tear gas and pepper spray at the final and Mr Darmanin said the use of such methods will be reviewed. He accepted that there were not enough police present to make sure supporters were safe and accepted that some officers took actions that were not acceptable.
He said: "In the urgency, the police used urgent dispersal methods to try to avoid harm and in doing, innocent ordinary families were treated in a way they will not have expected or liked." But he also claimed that the use of tear gas and pepper spray may have saved a lot of people from being crushed.
An independent inquiry into what happened at the Champions League Final is being conducted by UEFA. Liverpool FC are also asking fans to fill in feedback forms detailing their experiences. Liverpool fan group Spirit of Shankly has also announced that it is holding a meeting this Saturday to discuss “the next steps following the events in Paris”.
