Liverpool fans have reacted to the chaos and horrifying scenes that they experienced at Saturday’s Champions League final by putting up banners outside Anfield which slam UEFA and French Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin.
Supporters faced serious organisational issues outside the Stade de France before kick off, while videos have also emerged of Liverpool fans being pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed by French security forces and not allowed to enter into the stadium despite purchasing legitimate tickets. There were also horrifying reports of Reds fans being attacked and mugged by locals in Paris both before and after the game.
The game was delayed on three occasions due to the chaos, with UEFA originally blaming the late arrival of fans before later releasing a statement pointing the blame at the issues of fake tickets. Furthermore, at a press conference on Monday, French Minister of the Interior Darmanin blamed British fans as the cause of the unrest outside the ground.
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He told the press conference: “We deplore a lack of organisation in the way the English fans were received.” But he said 30,000 to 40,000 Liverpool fans had turned up for the game either without tickets or with counterfeits. He also shifted further blame to Reds fans. He added: “Manifestly, this kind of incident only seems to happen with certain English clubs. I’d like to thank the forces of law and order. They were very calm and able to avoid drama.”
Sports minister of France, Amelie Oudea-Costera, also suggested 'British fans' were the root cause of the unrest outside the ground ahead of the Champions League final. She also accused Liverpool of letting fans 'out in the wild'.
And as numerous witness reports and videos have shown, this was clearly not the case and Liverpool fans have reacted by sending a message to both Darmanin and UEFA. Two banners have been placed on the Anfield gates at The Kop end of the stadium, with one reading: 'UEFA SCUM' - and the other saying: 'SAFETY IGNORED DARMANIN LIAR'.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner sent a letter to the French government on Monday in response to the comments from the French political figures. The Fenway Sports Group chief said the letter was sent in 'utter disbelief' after what Reds fans were subjected to on Saturday.
On Monday night UEFA announced it had commissioned an independent report into events, which it said would 'examine decision-making, responsibility and behaviours of all entities involved in the final'.
Werner and all football fans will eagerly await the findings of the UEFA investigation and will hope that it gets to the bottom of the terrifying and unacceptable scenes that Liverpool fans experienced.
