France apologizes for chaotic Champions League final

The French interior minister expressed regret at the chaos surrounding the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Paris on Saturday. This match started after just over half an hour due to the failure at the stadium entrance. Fans jumped over the fence and went inside.

According to Minister Gérald Darmanin, there was massive ticket fraud. Hundreds of fans tried to enter the stadium with fake tickets. France and its football association UEFA said there are about 30,000 to 40,000 Britons in Paris with false or invalid tickets.

According to Darmanin, at the time of the first checks at the stadium, at least 70% of Britons arriving there did not have a valid ticket. This caused a huge traffic jam. As a result, only half of the Brits with a valid ticket managed to enter the stadium at 9 p.m., when the match was to start.

local youth

At the press conference, the minister said that young people from the neighborhood also had the opportunity to illegally enter Stade de France. According to Darmanin, the police only considered hooligans from the British side and not the problems of local youths.

Around the stadium, 29 people were detained, about half of them British. In total, at least 100 people were arrested around the match.

Darmanin also attributes the chaos to the fact that the organization was told just three months before the final that the Champions League final will take place in Paris. It was supposed to be played in Saint Petersburg, Russia, but due to the war in Ukraine, the final was moved to Paris.

for research

Liverpool lost the final 1-0 and asked UEFA for a full inquiry into the events. An investigation is also underway into how ticket fraud could have taken place on such a large scale.

Britons in possession of a valid ticket but unable to enter the stadium due to the chaos will be compensated.