the report criticizes the use of tear gas by the police – Liberation

Unveiled on Monday, the report of the expert group commissioned by UEFA does not disappoint. Their independent investigation, supposed to establish the responsibilities of the fiasco of the Stade de France last May, knocks out both the European body, which mandated them, and the security management of the event on the French side. “The group concluded that UEFA, as the owner of the event, bears primary responsibility for the failures that almost led to disaster”can we read in this long document obtained by AFP, which also pinpoints the Prefecture of Police and the French Football Federation (FFF).

“Even if it was reasonable to delegate security issues to others, first and foremost the FFF and to refer to […] the Prefecture of Police for law enforcement matters, it does not follow that UEFA is absolved of its liability. UEFA played a central role in the organization of the event and they should have watched, supervised and contributed to the security measures.argue the experts.

“The other stakeholders made mistakes which contributed (to the incidents) but UEFA was in the driver’s seat” during this Liverpool-Real Madrid final, they insist.

Endless waiting, supporters and families with children sprayed with tear gas or victims of robbery… The system of maintaining order during this Champions League final in Saint-Denis had given rise to scenes of chaos, provoking a lively controversy in France and England.

“Inappropriate” security approach

The report also points to the poor reaction of the French security forces, arguing that the police’s use of tear gas and pepper spray had no “no place in a football party”.

Experts in the report, led by Portugal’s former Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, said “dumbfounded” that the policing pattern of the match may have been influenced by the image of Liverpool supporters as hooligans, a “unexplainable misconception”. “The security approach […] was based, inappropriately, on the assumption that Liverpool supporters could pose a significant threat to public order.they note again.

The Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin had initially incriminated the British supporters with the many falsified tickets according to him, before the prefect Didier Lallement admitted to having “maybe deceived” on their number, recognizing a “failure”.

A government report had pointed to police and organizational dysfunctions, at the end of an episode which damaged the image of France in view of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.