A French Senate report into events surrounding the Champions League final in Paris found it was unfair for the authorities "to have sought to blame Liverpool supporters."
An official French parliamentary report said French authorities had "stereotyped" Liverpool FC fans. The report found supporters had been "misunderstood" and "identified as hooligans, throwing them back to the stereotypes of the 1980s".
The match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid on May 28 this year was marred by a number of organisational failures from UEFA and the French authorities. The ECHO heard from a number of LFC fans in the days following the match who detailed their horrific experiences which included being tear gassed by police, denied access to the stadium despite having valid tickets, and being attacked and robbed by locals in Saint Denis.
READ MORE: French Senate report to call Champions League final a 'fiasco'
In the days following the match French authorities including the Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin peddled false narratives about LFC fans. Mr Darmanin falsely claimed "30-40,000 fake tickets" were in circulation, along with other claims about supporters.
He apologised weeks later for the bad management of the event but stopped short of extending the apology to Liverpool fans. The report, presented by inquiry co-chairmen François-Noël Buffet and Laurent Lafon at 11am this morning, was critical of the interior minister.
Mr Lafon told the press conference: "It is unfair to have sought to blame Liverpool supporters for the disturbances as the minister of the interior has done to deflect attention from the state's inability to adequately manage the crowd."
Mr Buffet added: "Liverpool fans have been presented as the people who were mainly at fault for all these problems. That isn't right."
The report did highlight there were a number of fake tickets - but said the problems came from UEFA's management of tickets. Mr Lafon said: "The verification of tickets was flawed."
The report instead found a "chain of administrative errors" from the authorities involved in the organisation of the match". Mr Lafon said: "Nobody really felt they were responsible. They all thought they had played their own part fine enough. There was no real coordination between the different organisations and nobody had any foresight."
The report also focused on the actions of the Paris police. Liverpool fans said gangs of locals targeted supporters as they left the stadium. Ted Morris, chair of Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, told the ECHO he "feared for his life" as people were robbed and assaulted.
Mr Buffet said "most of the delinquency took place around the stadium after the match. This should have been foreseen". He added: "The police were negligent on the petty crime around the stadium and the failed pre-filter check meant criminals were able to enter the stadium."
The report also criticised the police's heavy-handed approach to crowd control including the use of tear gas on supporters including families and children. The Interior Minister has also been recommended to create a doctrine "clarifying the use of tear gas".
Mr Lafon said the findings of the report have highlighted a number of significant decisions need to be taken to ensure the Rugby World Cup and Olympic Games aren't marred by similar events. The Stade de France is due to host both events in the next two years.
Mr Morris and Joe Blott, chair of Spirit of Shankly appeared before the Senate last month, questioning the stadium's ability to host large events. Speaking today, Mr Buffet said: "This chaos shocked people internationally and has damaged the reputation of France.
But he added: "France is definitely capable of organising big sporting events. It would be very useful if the prime minister would come out and say the government is going to re-organise the ways in which we do that based on our report."
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