Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer has slammed the French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, for his comments following the scenes that Reds fans experienced at Saturday’s Champions League final.
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.
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'. However, at a press conference earlier that day, French Minister of the Interior Darmanin blamed British fans as the cause of the unrest outside the ground.
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He told a press conference: “We deplore a lack of organisation in the way the English fans were received.” But he went onto say 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 McAteer, who has heavily-tweeted about his horrible experience at the final since Saturday, was quick to hit back at Darmanin’s comments.
He tweeted: “Where were the police when my wife got mugged, her watch stolen bruised and my son attacked and beaten. Nowhere @GDarmanin. Pathetic excuses #UEFA #CHampionsLeagueFinal #France.”
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner sent a letter to the French government on Monday in response to the comments from these political figures. The Fenway Sports Group chief said the letter was sent in 'utter disbelief' after what Reds fans were subjected to on Saturday.
McAteer had tweeted on Sunday morning about his horrifying experience outside the Stade de France the previous evening. He said: “Last night was disgusting. My son was attacked, my wife mugged. @UEFAcom very accountable as well as ground stewards and French police. Hope everyone is getting out of this s***show safely. #LFC #LFCFamily.”
McAteer 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.
