Stade de France incidents: UEFA apologizes to supporters

UEFA presented this Friday evening, almost a week after the incidents, its apologies to the supporters who “had to undergo” the “painful events” surrounding the Champions League final on Saturday at the Stade de France, or “attend it” .

“No football fan should be put in this situation, and it must not happen again”, insists the European body, which specifies in passing the objectives of the investigation ordered Monday into the circumstances of the meeting won by Real Madrid (1-0) against Liverpool.

This Friday, facing the regional press, Emmanuel Macron delivered his point of view: “I was like all of us outraged by the disorder in all its forms and by what we have seen. I have a thought for the families who have been jostled, who have not been able to access the places they had paid for. This is why I would like us to be able to compensate them as soon as possible”. The Head of State repeated that he had “asked the government to determine responsibilities and explain them in great detail to our compatriots, the British and the Spaniards”.

Entrusted to the former Portuguese Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, the report commissioned by UEFA should “identify the shortcomings and responsibilities of all the entities involved in the organization of the final”. .

In detail, it will have to assess “all relevant operational plans related to security, mobility, ticketing”, as well as the “planning and preparation” of the various actors involved, “including on separate sites”. of the stadium such as meeting points for supporters.

Mr. Rodrigues will contact the representatives of the supporters, the two clubs, “the spectators in general, the French Football Federation (FFF), the police, the national and local authorities and the operator of the stadium”, lists UEFA. . This is for the time being “the only survey with which supporters are associated”, underlined to AFP Ronan Evain, executive director of the Football Supporters Europe association.

Scenes of chaos around the stadium

If UEFA’s communication “had not been ideal on Saturday evening”, laconically attributing the incidents to “thousands of counterfeit tickets”, “the main thing is that it be there, and put pressure” on the Minister of the French Interior Gérald Darmanin, the FFF and the Paris police headquarters, “so that they recognize that the supporters were victims of the events”, added Mr. Evain.

On Saturday evening, the impossibility of transporting spectators with tickets in time not only delayed the kick-off of the match by 36 minutes, but the scenes of chaos around the stadium also went around the world. Jostling, attempted intrusion by individuals without a ticket, supporters – including children – treated brutally by the police or victims of theft: six days later, the two clubs were still in awe of their welcome to Paris for the biggest game of the season in Europe.

Some fans weren’t able to enter the enclosure until well after kick-off, while others were never able to enter the gates of the 79,000-seat stadium.