English football fans’ testimonies contradict French government claims – videos

English football fans’ testimonies contradict French government claims – videos

The French interior minister insists that English fans caused chaos in the suburbs of Paris before the Champions League final, but British football fans' testimonies and video footage appear to be contradicting this. Even the mayor of Liverpool was robbed before the final.

WORLD POLITICS SPORTS JUNE 2. 2022 15:35

Huge chaos and confusion erupted on Saturday evening ahead of the football Champions League final in the French capital. There were serious organisational mistakes, with thousands of supporters queuing for kilometres to get inside Stade de France, a stadium on the outskirts of Paris, BFMTV reports. Sports journalist Nicolas Pelletier says there were several people selling fake tickets at the entrance, with prices ranging from 1,200 to 2,500 euros.

Shortly before the match started the venue had turned into a war zone, as many fans failed to get into the stadium on time. Some others, who had no tickets, scaled the fence get inside.

According to TF1’s summary, never before in the history of the Champions League matches has there been such a level of disorder as during this one, which caused a 35-minute delay in the start of the match. Police intervened and dispersed the crowd with tear gas, arresting 68 people in total, several of whom have turned out to be illegal migrants, Le Figaro reports.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, however, insists that the violence was started by England fans, as he said at a hearing before the Senate, where he was quizzed by members of the legal and cultural affairs committee about how Saturday night’s Champions League final was organised. According to Mr Darmanin, the chaos was not caused by criminal gangs in the suburbs, but by English football fans. The interior minister claimed that 110,000 people were present in the vicinity of the stadium and since only 75,000 tickets were officially sold, around 30-40,000 fans must have had fake tickets. However, citing data from the European Football Association (UEFA) and the French Football Federation (FFF), the AFP news agency reported that only a fraction of that number – just 2,800 – were identified as fake passes.

As for the nationality of the arrested rioters, Mr Darmanin told the Senate hearing that he did not have to report on the nationalities of the people detained by the police.

One of France’s most popular politicians, Eric Zemmour, also responded to the interior minister’s statement that it was not criminal gangs active in the suburbs that should be blamed for what had happened. The right-wing politician found is shocking that the interior minister refused to disclose the nationality of those arrested. Drawing on information from police forces published by the weekly Valeurs actuelles, Mr Zemmour revealed that the individuals taken into custody were Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan nationals. Mr Zemmour pointed out that Emmanuel Macron opted for entering into conflict with England rather than with criminals dominating the suburbs because he was aware that he was powerless in the peripheries.

Senator Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio also responded, slamming the interior minister for blaming the fake tickets for the chaos and uttering not a single word about the hundreds of vandals who attacked English and Spanish fans as they were entering and leaving the stadium.

The statements by the two politicians mentioned above are supported by the testimonies of English fans, with several of them stating that they were surrounded by dozens of gang members who grabbed them by the hair and began beating them. Two men told Le Parisien that they were just happy to return home unscathed after having been attacked from all directions. They had never been so frightened in their lives, they remarked.

One spectator who was inside the stadium, Francis Martin, told CNews that what truly frightened him was the hatred in the eyes of the people attacking them. A fan from Madrid said that their attackers seized four tickets, which cost 6,000 euros. He added that the situation was worse at the exit where there were even more troublemakers who snatched his wife’s handbag.

On English fan who also happened to be on the scene claims that the violent turmoil was not their fault. The short videos he has published clearly show that the ensuing chaos is a result of the actions of a few dozen French youngsters, and not the English fans in red T-shirts.

Even Liverpool’s mayor fell victim to the mob. Steve Rotheram told Rtl that he was mugged, with his phone, cash, bankcards, personal documents and tickets to the Champions League final stolen. The gang that robbed him off his belongings was far better organised than UEFA, he remarked.

Liverpool FC will provide expert help for fans to deal with the distressing events. The club working with a number of professional mental health services encourages fans to seek support and advice if needed following the events at the Champions League final, an announcement published on the club’s website says. The club highlights that there are a number of specialist services available both locally and nationally for fans of all ages.

 

WORLD POLITICS SPORTS

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champions league, france, gerald darmanin, mayor of liverpool robbed