PARIS (AP) — France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has apologized to Liverpool fans three years after wrongly blaming them for the chaotic scenes before the Champions League final at Stade de France.
Darmanin was France’s Interior Minister at the time of the 2022 final. He now accepts he made mistakes that day and wrongfully pointed the finger at Liverpool fans.
“Yes, it was a failure. Because I hadn’t checked what was happening properly, which was my mistake, and because I gave in to preconceived ideas,” Darmanin said in an interview with the “Legend” show on YouTube. “The culprit was easy (to designate), and I apologize to Liverpool fans. Of course they were right to (feel upset).”
The 2022 final between Liverpool and Real Madrid was delayed by more than 30 minutes. Panicky police indiscriminately fired tear gas and pepper spray at thousands of Liverpool supporters packed outside the stadium amid logistical chaos.
Darmanin initially maintained that up to 40,000 supporters without tickets or with forged tickets led to the incidents — yet only 2,471 forged tickets were identified.
Three years later, Darmanin said he was not even informed of any problem when he reached the stadium. Remarkably, he said he only found out what was going on when he viewed video surveillance himself, 15 minutes after he had arrived.
It was immediately assumed that there was a threat of hooliganism.
“On the video surveillance images we see a red crowd of Liverpool supporters, crowded against the gates and the riot police holding them back. I’m told there’s a crowd surge,” Darmanin said. “The initial analysis we make is ‘they’re causing mayhem.’ That’s what I hear at the security post; that’s what the police chief who then joins me tells me.”
Darmanin maintained his stance in the days after the final.
“During my first public outing, I said what I was told, which was ‘Well, the English are causing mayhem,’” Darmanin told the YouTube show. “It wasn’t true in the literal sense of the word.”
French senators later said the chaos was down to mistakes by police and officials — and not by the actions of Liverpool fans — pointing to “malfunction at every stage” before, during and after the game.
Many supporters also complained about thefts and assaults from local gangs of youths as they were leaving the stadium, with a lack of police protection for fans after the game.
In a rare admission, Darmanin accepts the security measures in place were not adequate.
“Our security system wasn’t designed for that at all. The CRS (riot police), mobile gendarmes with big boots and shields, they’re not great for running,” he said. “We got our (security) system wrong. We were expecting a hooligan war, and instead we got people who came to steal.”
Investigation panel targets UEFA
The final was moved to Paris at three months’ notice after UEFA stripped Russia of hosting the game in St. Petersburg because of the military invasion of Ukraine.
UEFA-appointed investigators held European soccer’s ruling body mostly responsible for the chaotic security failures impacting tens of thousands of fans.
“It is remarkable that no one lost their life,” the investigation panel wrote in a 220-page document published in February 2023. “The panel has concluded that UEFA, as event owner, bears primary responsibility.”
UEFA statements wrongly blamed Liverpool fans for arriving at the stadium late and using fake tickets to try to gain entry, the report said.
Last year, UEFA reached a confidential settlement to compensate Liverpool fans for personal injury claims.
“The settlement agreement has been made without any admission of liability,” UEFA said. ___
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