France’s sports minister on Monday blamed Liverpool for the chaos that followed Saturday’s Champions League final against Real Madrid in Paris, deploring the use of tear gas on some fans.
The French government has come under fire from the media and politicians in the United Kingdom over the way the police handled the events leading up to the match, as thousands of Liverpool fans were injured entering the famous Stade de France. took place in the suburbs of the French capital.
However, French sports minister Amélie Odea-Castera told RTL radio that Liverpool, unlike Real Madrid who later won the title for the 14th time in their history, were unable to arrange for their fans to come to Paris: “Liverpool left their fans, and that’s a big difference.”
The minister added that between 30,000 and 40,000 Liverpool fans had fake tickets or no tickets for the final of the first continental competition: “We have to see where these fake tickets come from … and how they were made in such large quantities.” . numbers.” The start of the match was delayed by more than half an hour due to tension outside the stadium and many fans tried to climb over the fence and enter by force, which led to the police confronting them and in some cases using tear gas. judicial detention for riots. She added that “the most unfortunate thing that happened” was tear gas against the families and children who came to the final.
And she confirmed that Liverpool had asked the European Football Association (Wifa) not to use phone apps, but to use paper tickets to enter the stadium. On Monday, Odea-Castera met with representatives of the French security service and football, as well as representatives of UEFA. Among those present will be Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin and Paris Police Chief Didier Lalman.
The minister insisted France could host major sporting events as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Summer Olympics as well as the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Significantly, following the Saint-Étienne-Auxerre match on Sunday, in addition to the play-offs, riots broke out at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, where supporters of relegated Saint-Étienne launched smoke bombs after the invasion of the stadium and attacked the security guards who were trying to protect the players so that they entered the dressing rooms.
