Prior mập the 2022 ae888
Champions League final between English đội Liverpool và Spanish nhóm Real Madrid on the evening of 28 May 2022, crowd control descended into chaos at the entrances mập the Stade de France in the low-income [ một ] [ 2 ] [ tam ] [ bốn ] suburb of Saint-Denis, France .
With a large build-up of fans around the stadium unable phệ gain access béo the stadium in the hours prior bự the scheduled kick-off giây phút of 21 : 00 CET, French police used tear gas và pepper spray on Liverpool fans. Thes e actions were later defended by organisers UEFA và several French political figures, who accused supporters of Liverpool, of whom tens of thousands had travelled bự the đô thị, of disorderly conduct, including attempting mập gain access bự the stadium with counterfeit tickets và penetrating the stadium illegally. This led Khủng the game beginning 36 minutes behind schedule, & resulted in dozens of arrests và hundreds of injuries .Supporters, journalists, và political figures were quick Khủng dispute the initial story of người hâm mộ disorder, with videos & eyewitness testimony. Collectively, they accused the organisers và security of major disorganisation và unpreparedness. A full enquiry has been commissioned by UEFA. The report, which was published on 13 February 2023, found that UEFA bore primary responsibility for the organizational và safety failures in the run-up mập the match. The báo cáo, described as ‘ damning ’, criticised both the organization & the French police, & rejected claims by both that ticketless fans were mập blame. The báo cáo stated that there was no evidence for such claims, và amounted béo ‘ a reprehensible attempt bự avoid responsibility ‘. [ 86 ]
Ticketing[edit]
Liverpool received a ticket allocation of 19,618, equating bự 26.1 % of the capacity of the Stade de France, [ 5 ] with Real Madrid receiving a similar allocation of approximately 20,000. [ 6 ] 12,000 were sold bự the general public, [ 7 ] và another 23,000 retained by UEFA béo be distributed lớn ” the local organising structure, UEFA và national associations, commercial partners & broadcasters “. [ tám ] Liverpool supporters union Spirit of Shankly wrote an open letter mập UEFA, criticising them for both the ticket allocation & the ” exorbitant ” prices, [ 9 ] & received tư vấn from Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, accusing UEFA of only focusing on money & not the supporters, [ 10 ] và encouraged supporters Khủng travel lớn Paris regardless of whether they had a ticket. [ 11 ]
According to the Agence France-Presse, 2,800 fake tickets were detected at the stadium gates while the French Football Federation said that 35,000 people with fake tickets or with no tickets eventually showed up at the stadium.[12] Paris police prefect Didier Lallemant said there was a large-scale ticket fraud operation, of “30,000 to 40,000 tickets”, though this number was alleged to be 2,589 by The New York Times.[13] Some Liverpool supporters that had bought bona fide tickets were later refused entry. Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson said a friend of his was denied entry using an official ticket given by Robertson.[14] 2,700 ticket holders who were refused entry were to be given refunds.[15] Additionally, each club had a designated “fan zone” for supporters travelling to the city; Liverpool’s was situated in Cours de Vincennes, seven miles away by train,[16] during a railway strike,[17][18] while Real Madrid’s was in Parc de la Maison d’éducation de la Légion d’honneur, within walking distance.[19][20]
Stewardship[edit]
Stewards on the route phối out for supporters coming from the D line station were insufficient & quickly overwhelmed. Moreover the approach was through a narrow enclosed pathway that quickly become clogged up. [ 21 ] The police requested that the stewards remove their controls at this point, for safety reasons. As a result, Liverpool fans were able lớn access the turnstiles at the immediate perimeter of the stadium, quickly leading bự overcrowding và bottlenecks. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] With stewards unable béo cope, many Liverpool supporters had great difficulties entering the stadium, even with valid tickets with codes that had not already been presented .Gates at one point were closed entirely, with many supporters still waiting outside. Police used tear gas và pepper spray on supporters outside the stadium. [ 24 ] By 21 : 00 local thời gian, the originally scheduled kick-off thời gian, thousands of seats remained empty in the Liverpool over. For ” security reasons “, the kick-off was initially delayed by 15 minutes mập 21 : 15. This was further delayed by 15 minutes Khủng 21 : 30, before being pushed back another 6 minutes béo 21 : 36, eventually started at 21 : 37. [ 25 ]
Liverpool Echo reported that “senior officials from Liverpool officially requested for the kick-off to be delayed after lobbying UEFA” but “a UEFA statement released during the game…claimed that supporters who ‘had purchased fake tickets’ were the reason why”.[26]
Merseyside Police officers, deployed at Stade de France ” reported the vast majority of fans behaved in an exemplary manner, arriving at turnstiles early và queuing as directed “. [ 27 ]Inside the stadium, messages on the public address system & the jumbotron attributed the delay mập the ” late arrival of fans ” ; [ 28 ] Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol disputed this, noting he arrived mập the ground four hours before kick-off & was ” quite shocked at how early supporters had turned up “. [ 29 ] Journalists attending the match attributed the difficulties outside the stadium béo the organisers. [ 25 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] In a later statement, French police said ” people attempted lớn penetrate the stadium “, và that police had ” intervened Khủng push back people trying bự force their way through “, [ 32 ] & blaming fans with ” giả tickets ” who were unable bự enter through the turnstiles. [ 33 ] [ 34 ]According phệ Football Supporters Europe ( FSE ) board thành viên Pierre Barthulemy, the head of the French Interior Ministry’s Anti-Hooligan Division, Thibaut Delaunay, was not present because he was visiting Qatar béo assist with the organisation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. [ 35 ]
Following the match, large groups of thugs attacked, mugged, and robbed both sets of supporters,[36][37] actions which were strategically organised by the perpetrators.[38] Eye-witnesses said gangs of youths were “roaming around outside” the stadium waiting for fans to leave following the full-time whistle.[39] French police arrested 68 people in total,[40] while a reported 238 people received medical attention.[41] MMA fighter, Paddy Pimblett who was at the match compared the events after the game to scenes from the American dystopian film The Purge with large groups of men armed with machetes, knives, bars and bats.[42] According to the testimony of a police officer in Le Figaro, there was mass sexual assault.[43] The secretary of Liverpool’s disabled supporters’ group told BFM TV that he saw the sexual assault of a disabled young woman.[44]
Response[edit]
Clubs[edit]
Immediately after the match, Liverpool requested a formal investigation into the causes of the issues. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] Liverpool chief executive officer Billy Hogan described the stadium entry & security issues, in addition béo the treatment of supporters, as ” absolutely unacceptable “, [ 47 ] said accusations being aimed at Liverpool supporters were ” deeply hurtful “, [ 48 ] & continued bự defend the behaviour of Liverpool supporters. [ 49 ] By 31 May, the club had received end 5,000 responses after requesting experiences & issues encountered. [ 50 ]On tam June, Real Madrid followed suit, requesting that ” what were the reasons that motivated that designation of the venue for the final và what criteria were taken into consideration taking into tài khoản what was experienced that day “, & ” answers & explanations béo determine who were those responsible for leaving the fans unattended và defenceless “, highlighting that đoạn phim evidence showcased fans being ” assaulted, harassed, mugged và robbed with violence “. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] Former Liverpool player, Jason McAteer said that his wife và son had been attacked và robbed after the game with his wife’s blouse being ripped open & her watch stolen. His son was kicked & his phone stolen. [ 53 ]
Fans[edit]
The tactics & actions of the French police were heavily criticised due bự their similarity mập the events of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, in which police incompetence in crowd control contributed béo a human crush that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans. [ 54 ] [ 55 ] [ 56 ] [ 57 ] [ 58 ] Several family members of Hillsborough victims who were in attendance at the final also compared the response of the police after the match bự the response of South Yorkshire Police after the Hillsborough disaster ; after Hillsborough, the then-prevailing narrative that drunken Liverpool fans were mập blame was fostered by the police in concert with sympathetic journalists & politicians. [ 59 ] [ 60 ] Survivors of the Hillsborough disaster who also attended the final in Paris reported having their trauma triggered by the ” mayhem ” on display. [ 61 ] [ 62 ]Former Liverpool players Kenny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler, Jim Beglin, và Jamie Carragher reported first và second-hand experiences which were highly critical of UEFA, the French police & Parisian locals. [ 63 ] Ronan Evain, executive director of the FSE, condemned the comments, saying ” there is a cheap, very old prejudice against Liverpool fans, & I think it has been used for political gain by the French government. [ 64 ]On tam June, UEFA issued an apology béo all of the Liverpool và Real Madrid supporters who ” had phệ experience or witness frightening & distressing events “. [ 65 ] [ 66 ]
Political[edit]
British Labour Party MP Ian Byrne described the entrance as ” one of the worst experiences ” in his life due lớn the ” horrendous security và organisation putting lives at risk “. [ 67 ] The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, & the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss called for a đầy đủ UEFA inquiry into how the chaos was allowed mập unfold. [ 68 ] Joanne Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool criticised the ” appalling management ” of the match & the ” brutal treatment ” of Liverpool fans by the police và stadium officials & called their blaming of the Liverpool fans ” shameful “, [ 69 ] comments followed with agreement by Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media & Thể Thao Nadine Dorries & Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Thể Thao, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society Nigel Huddleston, the latter of which criticised the use of tear gas against young và elderly Liverpool fans. [ 69 ]
French Sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin both blamed the problems before the game on Liverpool supporters and their behaviour.[70] This was disputed by reports and video evidence from the ground which demonstrated disorganised and heavy-handed policing,[71][72] including those of British broadcaster Sky Sports,[28] and newspaper The Daily Telegraph.[73] Merseyside Police praised the behaviour of Liverpool fans, describing it as “exemplary in shocking circumstances”.[74] French politician and Member of the European Parliament Jérôme Rivière stated Darmanin’s comments were a “lie”, pressing him to “apologise to the British for having wrongly accused them and to the French for the shameful fake news”.[75] Further to her earlier comments, on 30 May Oudéa-Castéra blamed a mass gathering of supporters with fake tickets for the chaos at the stadium.[76]
François-Noël Buffet, the President of the Law Committee, requested that Oudéa-Castéra and Darmanin should show proof for their post-game comments regarding counterfeit tickets.[77] Richard Bouigue, the deputy-mayor of the 12th arrondissement of Paris, was the first French politician to apologise to Liverpool, writing a letter to their supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly, in which he said regretted what had taken place.[78] BBC News correspondent Hugh Schofield wrote that the fallout from the final had become an issue in the 2022 French legislative election to be held in June. Right-wing opponents of president Emmanuel Macron portrayed the chaos as stemming from locals from the banlieue of Saint-Denis, a largely immigrant-descent area.[79] French polling expert Jérôme Fourquet mentioned the events from the final as a reason why Macron’s Ensemble Citoyens made losses at the elections, and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally made large gains.[80]
Polling by Odoxa-Backbone Consulting found that 53 % of the French public were apprehensive about France hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup và the 2024 Summer Olympics, & that 90 % thought that the episode had harmed the nation’s reputation abroad. [ 81 ]On 9 June, the chief of the Paris Police Prefecture, Didier Lallement apologised for the use of tear gas but claimed that the main aim of the police operation was phệ save lives. [ 82 ] The same day, it was confirmed that the surveillance footage from the stadium had been destroyed as it had not been claimed by the courts within seven days. [ 83 ]
UEFA inquiry[edit]
On 30 May, UEFA announced they were commissioning an independent báo cáo into the events surrounding the final béo examine the decision making, responsibility & behaviours of all entities involved, & would be led by Portuguese thành viên of parliament Tiago Brandão Rodrigues on a pro bono basis. The báo cáo would be made public upon its completion, with UEFA evaluating the next steps phệ take. [ 84 ] [ 85 ]The báo cáo, which was published on 13 February 2023, found that UEFA bore primary responsibility for the organizational và safety failures in the run-up phệ the match. The báo cáo, described as ‘ damning ’, criticised both the organization & the French police, & rejected claims by both that ticketless fans were phệ blame. The báo cáo stated that there was no evidence for such claims, và amounted mập ‘ a reprehensible attempt Khủng avoid responsibility ‘. [ 86 ] UEFA was criticized for marginalizing its own safety & security unit, và for statements made during và after the match. The French police were also blamed for not working with other stakeholders, for failing Khủng prevent or remedy congestion, & for using teargas và pepper sprays without justification. They were also criticized for not acting against local groups who attacked supporters. The báo cáo makes clear these failures came close mập causing a mass-fatality crowd disaster. [ 86 ]UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis accepted the findings of the báo cáo, thanking Dr Rodrigues, & offering an apology Khủng those who were affected, particularly the supporters of Liverpool FC ‘ for their experiences many of them had ‘, & ‘ for the messages released prior Khủng & during the game which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation ‘. [ 87 ] UEFA also promised bự refund all Liverpool fans the cost of their tickets. [ 88 ]
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
References[edit]
