“Total disbelief. Liverpool Executive Director Billy Hogan visibly widened his eyes as he listened to the hearing of Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and his Sports counterpart Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on the Stade de France incidents on Wednesday in the Senate. Because several points, against the supporters of the Reds, raised by the two members of the government led him to speak again in a video interview broadcast by the English club Thursday at the end of the day.
“I really sympathize with our supporters. No one should experience what they experienced on Saturday, underlines the leader. This pain, this grief, this injury to now be heard saying by a French minister that only Liverpool fans had been a problem, it’s just shameful. »
His remarks refer to statements made by Gérald Darmanin before the senators of two commissions the day before at the Luxembourg Palace. The tenant of Place Beauvau had insisted that there had been “no problem” in transporting Real Madrid supporters to attend this Champions League final, where that of the British would have been “disorganized “.
“I spoke to my counterpart from Real Madrid who told me clearly that his supporters had had problems, continues Billy Hogan. They have major concerns with what happened on game day, including the police response. […] Real Madrid have made it clear that their fans have also suffered. »
6,500 testimonials from supporters received by the club
For the rest, the executive director of the Reds hammered their demands: a request for an independent “investigation” where UEFA announced a “report”. The Liverpool club thus sent a series of 13 questions to the European body on these investigations. “We need clarity,” says Billy Hogan.
In addition, more than 6,500 supporters present in Saint-Denis on Saturday evening sent their testimony via the form put online by the club. 5,000 did so in the first 24 hours after the initiative was launched on Monday. The club will close its platform on Sunday in order to collect all the testimonies to analyze them in more depth.
Through its foundation, the club has offered its supporters affected by their nightmare evening psychological assistance. Several phone numbers are available to fans. “We encourage fans to ask for help if they need it,” said the Liverpool manager.