Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has criticized the French police for handling the Champions League final by fans and has challenged Uefa’s account of problems outside the Stade de France after use tear gas on those trapped off the ground.
Thousands of fans missed the opening match against Real Madrid, which was delayed by 36 minutes due to worrying congestion problems that caused a large number to be trapped around the perimeter for several hours.
More troubling, however, was the chaotic way the authorities chose to deal with the situation. French police inside the fence used tear gas on the outside fans after the Y Gate, one of the two main gates of a narrow walkway to which 20,000 followers were trying to access, was closed. up to an hour before the start in response to growing frustration from fans queuing to enter and delayed by trouble scanning tickets and security searches. Several Liverpool fans with tickets, increasingly concerned about their safety, gave up trying to enter the match and left the scene.
Robertson revealed that many of the players’ families and friends were trapped in the chaos and said: “You have to have some sympathy because this was thrown in Paris at the last minute with everything that has happened to Russia.” . The final moved from St. Petersburg after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
“But as a competition for Uefa, it is the most important match in world football and it should be organized much better. Things like this should not be happening and definitely the force used by certain authorities should not be happening either.
“Virtually all of our families were affected. I can only speak for my family and all I know is that everyone is safe and that is my top priority. I hope all the fans are safe. “
The children were among those trapped in the chaos outside the Stade de France. Photo: Reuters
Liverpool are understood to be furious at Uefa’s “totally inaccurate” initial guilt over the delayed start to the late arrival of the fans and have called for an official investigation.
The governing body of European football later said in a statement that it was the fault of “thousands of fans who had bought fake tickets that did not work on turnstiles”.
The Paris Police Headquarters subsequently issued its own statement alleging that people without tickets or counterfeits were “exerting strong pressure to enter the premises”, which led to a delay in access.
This version of events does not match the many fan accounts and what Robertson had been told.
The left winger said: “My tickets were through the club and someone told one of my teammates that I had a fake ticket, which I assure you was not because it was obviously through me. Then, obviously, the French police decided to throw tear gas at the fans and their families. It’s not well organized. “
The group of supporters of Spirit of Shankly described the scenes as “totally shabby and extremely dangerous”.
The problems did not end there for the fans, as after the 1-0 defeat many were attacked and robbed by the locals during the 10 minute walk back to the train stations.
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Former Liverpool defender and now television expert Jim Beglin said people were making “a thug’s glove”. He tweeted: “Last night after the game it was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. The organized gangs were busy docking the marching fans.
“We ran a glove of thugs on the way to the subway. No police in sight. He witnessed so many ambushes on unsuspecting attendees. Reprovable @UEFA.
SOS added: “Many of our committee members witnessed gangs of local youths acting with impunity; the police only watched them and seemed reluctant to intervene.”