The scenes I witnessed in Saint-Denis should not be happening in football in the 21st Century.
And the appalling, arrogant cover-up from UEFA and the French authorities afterwards - to try and pin blame on innocent fans - should not be happening either. Let’s get this straight: the organisation for the Champions League Final in the Stade de France was not just inadequate; it totally failed - to a criminal level.
And there must be a criminal investigation into the failures which put lives at risk and opened up the possibility of another tragedy at a football stadium. Fans who arrived as early as 5.30pm for a 9pm kick-off, were corralled into the worst holding areas I’ve ever witnessed in a modern stadium. And that should not be happening with all the lessons we should have learned from the past.
Even at 6pm, a dangerous crush was building. By then, it was apparent there was no way the structure in place, herding many thousands of fans into tiny restricted areas, was adequate. And also apparent, the security checks were shockingly few for so many people. It meant a horrific bottleneck that was never going to clear before kick-off, with some fans waiting for more than three hours to get through. Yet nothing was done to change it.
But that wasn’t the worst. The organisers then actually CLOSED gates at the inner perimeter, and at other gates, scanners were clearly not working. That was exacerbated by locals taking advantage of the ensuing chaos to try and clear barriers to get into the ground. I witnessed all of this, and witnessed the shocking response of the French police, who baton-charged and tear-gassed innocent people with tickets merely standing waiting to come through gates which never opened. Men, women and children.
After the game it was equally bad, an ominous atmosphere outside, with gangs gathering to attack departing fans and snatch bags and phones - with no apparent police intervention. It was an horrific night, made even worse by the swift cover-up that ensued, with UEFA first blaming late arriving fans, then saying there were thousands with fake tickets.
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That lie was extended even further by the French government with their Sports Minister saying the “English” were responsible for “violence”. The only violence I saw came from the thuggish French police, and the locals who tried to get in and then turned on fans afterwards.
Then there was the violence of a complete breakdown of the organisation of one of the world’s biggest sporting events; a violence which saw many hundreds pushed, crushed, and treated inhumanely. It all sounds horrendously familiar, and it should not be happening. UEFA and the French government need to understand this, and act because they were so close to causing a tragedy.
