Uefa Liverpool final: String of errors in French handling, says report

Image source, REUTERS

There were a number of administrative errors and failures that led to the security debacle at the Uefa Champs League final in Paris.

The French government blamed fake tickets for the crowd chaos that resulted in supporters being tear-gassed and robbed.

Authorities were blamed unfairly according to a Senate report.

It said that there were mistakes made at all levels.

Evidence from fans, club representatives and French officials was taken during the investigation of what went wrong on the night of the final of the European soccer competition.

Digital tickets not working correctly on the night led to problems at the turnstiles, according to fans. The rail strike made things worse as fans arrived for the game.

Fans were attacked and robbed as well as being tear-gassed outside the ground. It was discovered that no request had been made to save the footage.

One of the inquiry's two chairmen spoke of a chaotic chain of events and a lack of co-ordination.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin apologized for the disproportionate use of tear gas in testimony to the Senate committee last month. He said that most of the blame was on the fans of the Reds. He had previously claimed that tens of thousands of fans had arrived at the stadium with no tickets at all. There were over two thousand fake tickets on the night.

The shocking scenes outside the stadium came as an embarrassment to the government and as France prepares to host the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics. The May final was moved due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Jean-Nol Buffet accused Mr Darmanin of lying after the incident. Had he apologized, there wouldn't have been an issue.

Mr Darmanin apologized to the supporters.