Phil doesn’t even want to hide his disgust. This Liverpool supporter circles around the gates of the Stade de France, annoyed, while inside, his Reds launch the first attacks on the Real Madrid goal. The 40-year-old roams the forecourt around the enclosure, ticket for the Champions League final in hand. If his son and his uncle were able to sit in the stands, he must resolve to miss the start of a historic meeting for his club. The sad story of this Briton is one of too many symbols of an evening which was to be grandiose and which was completely failed on the front of the organization.
The day of celebration, well launched by the noisy celebrations of Liverpool and Real fans between Paris and Saint-Denis, degenerated at the start of the evening near the stadium. Security barriers were forced in several places around the forecourt, as very long lines of supporters struggled to advance to access security checks. An agonizing crush. According to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and UEFA, these crowds were caused by British supporters with counterfeit tickets. “There were huge queues, I’ve never seen that when I’ve been coming to the Stade de France for more than twenty years, describes a spectator. There were some very creepy crowd movements, with children crying. And with a single 20-year-old steward to control the tickets. »
The last Liverpool supporters returned just before the break
Several people also climbed the gates around the stadium, then rushed towards the stairs that lead inside the Stade de France to enjoy the show. This chaotic situation led to several police interventions, the use of tear gas spray by the police, and the closure of many access points to the stadium. All this leading to the postponement, first of a quarter of an hour, then of thirty minutes of a kick-off of the match scheduled for 9 p.m. and finally given at… 9:36 p.m., according to information given by messages registered on the giant screens of the Stade de France.
The unexpected delay forced players from both teams to return to warm up on the pitch before the match finally got underway, more than 35 minutes late. All after a mini-concert by singer Camila Cabello maintained despite the incidents.
Outside, the hundreds of Liverpool supporters crowded along the gates were dejected. Some, brandishing their ticket to the lens of the cameras, implore that they be let in, but access will be trickle-down. According to the police headquarters and several witnesses, all the fans ended up being able to access the stands at the very end of the first period, when Real Madrid had just been denied a goal signed Karim Benzema.
68 arrests, 39 placements in police custody
Among these aggrieved spectators, the Olympic boxing champion Estelle Mossely. “I finally came back after an hour of disaster. I was gassed twice, jostled, tells us the boxer, very angry. A bottle landed near me. What happened at the Stade de France tonight (Saturday) is scandalous, unacceptable. People with tickets that we don’t let in… Other people who have no business there and who ended up being evacuated only 20 minutes ago…”
On the forecourt, some clashes continued during the meeting. The police fired tear gas and also charged to disperse several people still gathered around the compound. Sporadic interventions, in the middle of overturned barriers, ended during the evening. Between Paris and the surroundings of the Stade de France, they led, according to security sources who did not note any major incident, to 68 arrests including 39 placements in police custody. 174 supporters were slightly injured.
These few hours of chaos left an aftertaste of fiasco to the organizers. And they question one year from the Rugby World Cup in France and two years from the Paris Olympics.