Ahead of the biggest footballing event in Europe this year, the match was marred by scenes of chaos and stories of fear before the match.
The Champions League final was delayed by 30 minutes in order to allow fans outside the stadium to enter the Stade de France. UEFA put up an announcement inside the stadium claiming it was due to the late arrival of fans that was causing the issues.
UEFA blames problems at the Stade de France on “thousands of fans” who it said tried to enter with “fake tickets” in the Liverpool side of the stadium. Doesn’t refer to the locals who were ticketless and trying to scale barriers. pic.twitter.com/dGSVB2YyiK
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) May 28, 2022
A later statement from UEFA blamed the issues on ticketless fans trying to enter the stadium.
It was evident at the time, but this misleading announcement inside the stadium to explain the delay should be corrected. People waiting in two and three hour-long queues suggests they didn’t arrive late, early if anything. For organisers it’s easy to blame fans and move on. pic.twitter.com/lmg8F9taky
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) May 29, 2022
However this contrasts with on the ground accounts. Yesterday there were reports of roving groups of locals attacking and robbing fans outside the stadium.
Another article from Mundo Deportivo referred to the Saint-Denis, the area the final was hosted in, as a ‘mousetrap’. In contrast to UEFA’s account, fans were supposedly queueing for hours outside the stadium and tear gas was used by French police on the fans with no aggression towards them.
France Info say that 68 arrests were made in total, 50 of which were due to fake tickets and 39 of which were put in cells. That was also shared by Mundo Deportivo.
One way or another, it appears the organisation of the final was problematic. This will be another blow to the reputation of UEFA, regardless of the story presented by them. The extent to which side is true will likely be revealed, but there are more than sufficient resources available to UEFA to ensure their mistakes were not being made.
🗣️ "Shambolic."
🗣️ "That was terrifying."Liverpool fans in Paris explain what has been happening outside the Stade de France. pic.twitter.com/YN88H6tEFR
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 28, 2022
Image via PA
