nAfter the chaos surrounding the Champions League final in Paris, France’s Sports Minister Amelie Odea Castera sees British football fans as primarily to blame. The minister told RTL in Paris on Monday that 30,000 to 40,000 people crowded the Stade de France without a ticket or with fake tickets and caused major security problems there. It remains to be clarified where the fake tickets in such large numbers came from.
The minister also accused Liverpool Football Club of not taking care of its fans like Real Madrid and leaving them to their own devices.
Odea Castera regrets the use of tear gas
The minister lamented the use of tear gas, which also affected uninvolved fans, families and children. At the same time, she emphasized that France had managed to organize major sporting events and referred to the 2016 European Football Championship.
All lessons should be learned from Saturday night’s events, as well as with the aim of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games in France. Together with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, Odea Castera wanted to take part in a Monday morning crisis meeting to deal with the chaos at the Stade de France.
‘It’s a shame to blame the fans’
On the other hand, the British government renewed its criticism of the French security forces. “I am horrified by these images of French police using pepper spray against fans, including children and the disabled,” Secretary of State Chris Philip told Sky News on Monday. “From the pictures I saw, there was no clear justification for this kind of behaviour,” Philip demanded from the Ministry of Culture responsible for sports.
Liverpool Mayor Joan Anderson described the actions of the French police against British fans as “extremely disgusting”. Anderson, who was at the same stadium, told the BBC on Monday that police had acted “really brutal” and the way the football match was organized was “chaotic”. An apology must be made to the Liverpool supporters. “Our fans have been stereotyped in terms of their behaviour. I get angry and angry the more stories I hear,” Anderson said. “Fans should be treated with more respect.”
Earlier, the mayor (Labour) announced that she would ask British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for answers from UEFA and French President Emmanuel Macron to investigate the incidents. “Shame on blaming the fans,” Anderson wrote on Twitter.
Police in Paris recorded more than 100 arrests and 230 injuries around the final match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, which the Spaniards won 1-0. UEFA explained the chaos at the entrance of the large number of fans who did not have valid tickets.
The turnstiles have been blocked at the entrance to Liverpool fans because thousands of fans with fake tickets were unable to pass through them. the police used tear gas. The kick-off time was pushed back more than half an hour. Fan representatives criticize the one-sided representation by UEFA.
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