Footage of 'extremely violent' scenes outside the Stade de France at the time of the Champions League have been destroyed, French authorities today confirmed.
Liverpool fans continue to speak out about their abhorrent treatment in the build up and aftermath of the Paris final by French police, match organisers and local gangs. An enquiry into the chaos is continuing in the French Senate, where Liverpool City Region Mayor today gave evidence of his own experience as a victim of crime in the French capital.
But in another shocking development today, French outlet RMC has reported quotes from the French Football Federation (FFF) which state that all CCTV from outside the Stade de France on the day of the final - May 28 - has been deleted.
READ MORE: Paris police chief 'says sorry' after Champions League final disgrace
Erwan Le Prevost is the director of international relations at the FFF, he is quoted as saying: “The images are available for seven days. They are then automatically destroyed. We should have had a requisition to provide them to the different populations, the images are extremely violent."
The news has sparked further outrage amongst Liverpool fans and others who pointed out the footage could have been used to disprove the narrative being pushed out by French authorities. Guardian journalist David Conn said: "More astonishing developments amid the French authorities’ continuing denial of the failures that caused the Champions League Final horrors in Paris."
Daily Mirror journalist David Maddock tweeted: "Turns out Paris police not only lied about #LFC fans, but then obstructed justice by allowing video footage - which could have shown whether there were 40,000 fake ticket holders - to be deleted."
Mr Le Provost was speaking at a French Senate hearing, which continues to investigate how things went wrong at the Paris final. Also appearing today was Metro Mayor Rotheram who had his phone, match ticket and other valuables stolen on his way towards the stadium.
Mayor Rotheram responded to further questions from French Senators about claims of large numbers of fake tickets amongst Liverpool fans, which follow widely disputed claims by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin last week, who suggested there were as many as 40,000 fans with fake tickets trying to get into the game.
He said: "The whole ticket charade is an attempt by authorities to not understand why there were problems outside the stadium. The methodology behind these claims appears to have been made up on the back of a cigarette packet. Where are those 40,000 fans supposed to have melted away to? Its patently untrue."
Mayor Rotheram told senators that the issue of false narratives being pushed by authorities was particularly sensitive for Liverpool fans because of the history of the Hillsborough disaster. He said: "The whole issue of fake tickets is being used as a red herring to scapegoat Liverpool fans. It is a deflection tactic that Liverpool fans have seen before, particularly in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster where 97 supporters were unlawfully killed. It is a very sensitive subject."
Earlier today, Paris police chief Didier Lallement apologised for tear-gassing supporters who were waiting to enter the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France. He said: "It is obviously a failure. It was a failure because people were pushed around and attacked. It was a failure because the image of the country was undermined."
