France blames ‘fake tickets’ for Champions League final chaos
The chaos of the Champions League final in Paris – that’s been marred by reports of Liverpool fans being tear-gassed, was caused by fans without tickets.
The country’s sports minister said fans without tickets caused the initial crowd problems, despite strong criticism of the event’s policing.
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra blamed a “mass gathering” of supporters with “fake tickets” for the chaos at the stadium.
She said local youths trying to force their way into the stadium made things worse.
But UK officials blame the aggressiveness of the French police. The UK’s Culture Secretary described the police response as “deeply concerning” and has called for an inquiry.
French police have been criticised for using pepper spray and tear gas on some Liverpool fans as they waited to get into the Stade de France.
The final – which saw Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0, was delayed by 35 minutes because of the trouble outside.
Ms Oudéa-Castéra’s comments came ahead of a meeting on Monday with the French sports ministry, Europe’s football governing body Uefa, the French Football Association, stadium officials and police to “draw lessons” from the event.
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“What happened, first of all, was this mass gathering of the British supporters of the Liverpool club, without tickets, or with fake tickets,” Ms Oudéa-Castéra told French radio RTL.
She said more people from the local area tried to force their way in through the doors of the Stade de France. “A certain number of youths from the nearby area who were present tried to get in by mixing in with the crowd,” the minister said.
She also expressed regret that children and families were impacted by the use of tear gas.
The French minister said there were “no problems” regarding Real supporters and the Spanish side had controlled their travelling fans better than Liverpool.
But Merseyside Police (who were present in Paris) said the vast majority of Liverpool fans arrived early and behaved in an “exemplary manner”.
The BBC’s sports journalist Nick Parrott, who was in Paris, said “it was the most petrifying experience I’ve ever had at a football match”. He tweeted that locals were “trying to force their way in leading to security closing the gates and keeping out legitimate fans with tickets”.
Meanwhile, Liverpool player Andy Robertson said the organisation of the final was a “shambles”, adding that he had given a genuine ticket to a friend who was told it was fake and denied entry to the game.
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