This is how it starts. This is how an attempt to control the narrative – for want of a better word – begins. And it was almost brazen in its execution.
“Due to the late arrival of fans at the stadium, the match has been delayed,” was the message displayed on the screens inside the Stade de France after it became patently clear the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid couldn’t begin as scheduled.
Not, though, because of the reason being claimed by UEFA.
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Outside, tens of thousands of Liverpool supporters were having their patience tested by the lack of organisation that has sadly become commonplace on such prestigious European occasions.
Rather than turn up late, the majority of fans – who had been well behaved during a boisterous afternoon at the fan park in Cours de Vincennes – had actually been approaching the stadium several hours before the kick-off, which was 9pm local time.
Social media was flooded with tales of first bemusement, then frustration, growing anger and finally genuine concern for safety as swathes of travelling Reds were held at a security checkpoint for no apparent reason.
It got worse. The full details will emerge over the course of time. But anecdotal evidence of pepper spray, tear gas, gates remaining inexplicably closed and police being heavy-handed with parents and children were all backed up with video footage. In the Instagram era, it’s a lot harder to hide.
Indeed, there will no doubt be those who will have used the situation to their advantage and sought to gain entry to the stadium that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. That, though, is sadly the case for many fanbases – and proper organisation acts as a genuine deterrent. This was not proper organisation in the slightest.
Indeed, midway through the first half and some supporters hade given up on trying to get into the stadium and headed back into the centre of Paris to watch the match.
It’s bad enough the majority of supporters – both Liverpool and Real – had to pay at least £125 for the privilege of being inside the stadium. But to be treated in such a disrespectful manner when merely attempting to get their money’s worth merits the most fierce criticism, the most forensic inquiry.
The chaos was indiscriminate. Alan Kennedy, Liverpool’s matchwinner when they defeated Real Madrid in Paris to win the European Cup in 1981, was among those affected, and had to be helped over a fence by a group of fans in an attempt to get nearer to the stadium.
Meanwhile, Joel Matip’s brother and his family were forced to take refuge in a restaurant having been caught up in police using tear gas.
It was a little curious that Real Madrid supporters had, by and large, negotiated their journey into the stadium without too much trouble. This mirrored the experience of the two team coaches on their way up to the stadium – Real arriving at the Stade de France on time with Liverpool caught up in a jam of cars and people.
UEFA later changed their official reasoning for the delay to “security reasons” – and, in fairness, that was the initial translation in both Spanish and French – but the damage, to some extent, had been done by the time the game started 36 minute late, the Liverpool end understandably very subdued and still not quite full.
Will UEFA ever learn? History tells us we will be waiting an awful long time for a positive answer to that question. This was a disgrace.
