Gérald Darmanin pointed the finger on Saturday evening at the attitude of “thousands of British supporters without tickets or with fake tickets who forced their way in” to the Stade de France, making them bear the responsibility for the chaos on the evening of the final of the Champions League.
In a tweet, accompanied by a photo of him and the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, at the security headquarters of the Stade de France, the Minister of the Interior argues that “thousands of British supporters, without tickets or with counterfeit tickets forced entry and sometimes assaulted the stewards”.
“Thank you to the very many police forces mobilized this evening in this difficult context”, added Mr. Darmanin as a controversy began over the conditions in which France managed this final, won by Real Madrid, two years before. the organization of the Olympic Games in Paris.
The meeting between Liverpool and Real Madrid started more than half an hour late, as young spectators without tickets climbed the gates of the stadium enclosure to try to enter. Brief scuffles had opposed the police who repelled these intruders, sometimes using tear gas.
Some spectators, who had tickets, were only able to access the stadium at the end of the first half. A source close to the government argued to AFP that the problem came from “British supporters, unfortunately accustomed to these overflows”. “Only a few young people from the neighborhoods got involved in the unrest, but that is marginal,” added the same source.
This source also “deplored the use of counterfeit tickets by British supporters, which disrupted access to the stadium”. “The device was very well sized, we continued, and the reaction was quick on the part of the police on the spot”. It was noted that “despite the situation, there were no injuries”.
In a press release, the Paris police headquarters explained that before the match “many supporters without tickets for the match or holders of counterfeit tickets disrupted access to the Stade de France, at the level of the external security perimeter”. “Exerting strong pressure to enter the enclosure, these supporters delayed access to spectators with tickets. Taking advantage of this action, a number of people managed to cross the gates protecting the enclosure of the stadium, ”added the PP.
“The rapid intervention of the police allowed the return to calm and the evacuation of the disturbers outside the forecourt of the Stade de France”, she added.
The prefecture noted that the dispersal of spectators was taking place “without difficulty”, and that “no major incident had been observed in the two fan zones”, in Saint-Denis and Cours de Vincennes in Paris.
At 11:45 p.m., according to a first provisional report from the Ministry of the Interior, there were in Paris and Saint-Denis “53 arrests and 24 police custody”. “115 supporters were slightly injured, four of whom were evacuated by firefighters” and “there were no injuries among the police”.
