NAfter the Champions League final between FC Bayern Munich and Paris St. Germain (PSG), riots broke out in the French capital. Rioters set vehicles on fire on Monday night, smashed shop windows and devastated shops, as a reporter from the AFP news agency observed. They also pelted the security forces with bottles and fired fireworks in their direction.
The security forces in turn used tear gas and fired rubber bullets. According to the police, 22 people were arrested until shortly after midnight. The violent confrontations continued thereafter. The riots had already started during the soccer game in the vicinity of the Prinzenpark, PSG’s home stadium. They then expanded onto the magnificent Champs-Elysées.
Despite the corona pandemic, 5,000 PSG fans in the Prinzenpark were allowed to watch the broadcast of the final, which took place in Lisbon. FC Bayern won 1-0. With face masks and fan scarfs or honking their horns in the car, thousands of FC Bayern fans celebrated their team’s victory in the Champions League final and the triple it achieved in Munich. Several thousand fans quickly came to Leopoldstrasse in the city center, which is known and popular for car parades, late on Sunday evening. The applicable distance rules were not always observed. The police were on duty with a lot of people.
Some drove loudly in their cars along the multi-lane route, others walked along it waving flags. On the sidewalks, larger groups of people formed again and again, celebrating exuberantly, often without a mask. The summer holidays are currently still in Bavaria, which is why some don’t have to go to school or work on Monday morning. The German record champions around coach Hansi Flick had won 1-0 against Paris Saint-Germain in the European premier class in Lisbon. The combination with triumphs in the championship and in the DFB Cup had so far only been successful for Bayern in 2013.
The police spoke of a quiet situation in Munich. “By and large there are no major problems,” said a spokesman. More than 150 additional emergency services compared to an average Sunday evening are on the streets. In orange-yellow safety vests, they clearly checked the hygiene and distance rules that apply to contain the corona pandemic. Most people reacted very reasonably, the spokesman said. In order to remind people of the rules, loudspeaker announcements and targeted speeches by the police were repeated, it said. Because some people had burned down pyrotechnics, there were isolated arrests.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), a Nuremberg native and avowed club fan, tweeted shortly after the final whistle: “Congratulations to @FCBayern! Winning the Champions League is the crowning glory of an outstanding season! ”He also put a photo of himself with an FC Bayern jersey in hand, on which numerous autographs can be seen around the number 12 on the back.
However, the Corona crisis also throws the team through the celebration bill. Bayern announced on Saturday that there would be no major celebrations in Munich after returning from Portugal. The special machine with the team on board is scheduled to land at Munich Airport on Monday around 4 p.m. The team and delegation would be picked up by buses directly from an apron position on the aircraft, it said. You wouldn’t be seen. This advance notice is intended to avoid the gathering of people at the airport. According to the association, the process results from strict compliance with the generally applicable hygiene requirements.
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