A controversy that the French authorities would have done well without. One year from the Rugby World Cup and two years from the Olympic Games organized on French soil, the Champions League final at the Stade de France was delayed by more than half an hour due to disruptions in the surroundings of the enclosure, Saturday 28 May. A meeting organized in France after the withdrawal of the event in Saint Petersburg due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
This major meeting organized by France was put in difficulty by these incidents, which took place in a tense context in terms of transport. A strike at the RATP affected the RER B, which allows you to go to the Stade de France. In a press release, the CGT Métro-RER, the traction division of FO, Unsa and La Base called on Monday May 23 to “strongly impact this event”. The image is negative, as demonstrated by this tweet from the widely listened to Gary Lineker, a former England striker now a consultant, who claimed not to “be sure that it is possible to have such a poorly organized final, even on purpose. It’s chaotic, dangerous!”
I’m not sure it’s possible to have a more poorly organized event if you tried. Absolutely shambolic and dangerous. @UEFAcom
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 28, 2022
Forced stadium filtering
Knowing the risk involved in this meeting with more than 70,000 English people expected in Paris for only 20,000 tickets, the Paris police headquarters (PP) had imagined a first filtering around the stadium. A “penetration attempt” was found, but the filtering remained “watertight”, according to the Prefecture of Police. These first incidents more than an hour before kick-off set the tone and demonstrated the impatience of the fans present.
The filtering of the Stade de France did not work as planned before reaching the forecourt @RMCsport pic.twitter.com/iyTqj05KAk
— Nicolas Pelletier (@npelletier18) May 28, 2022
People who passed this first screening were not able to access the stadium, but it was supposed to protect the entrances to the Stade de France from a massive influx of supporters.
Match delayed due to ‘late arrival of fans’
While the kick-off was scheduled for 9 p.m., UEFA announced a postponement, a few minutes from the fateful hour due to “the late arrival of the fans”. The stadium, although sparse, demonstrated the problem of access to the enclosure for the supporters, in particular English. Arrived at the last moment, caught in the RER strike? The reasons can be multiple but this version is questioned on the side of Liverpool.
Nonsense for UEFA to suggest this is down to fans arriving late. I know LFC fans who arrived at Stade de France two and a half hours ago and have only just got inside the ground. Complete lack of organization. Dangerous bottlenecks.
—James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) May 28, 2022
The journalist from The Athletic UKJames Pearce points to the organization of the stadium, speaking of “dangerous bottlenecks”. “I know Liverpool fans who arrived at the Stade de France two and a half hours before the game and who have just returned”he tweeted at 9 p.m.
Tear gas and scaled gratings
As a result of the cacophony outside the gates, fans outside grew impatient as kick-off approached and people without tickets tried to take advantage of the situation to break in. The English demanded the opening of the doors to the cries of“Open the gate“, while a good thousand people were in slow motion, according to AFP.
Total chaos at the Stade de France pic.twitter.com/Y1bSbR4xdC
— Bruno Constant (@Bruno_Constant) May 28, 2022
The movement of the crowd and the protest was followed by the escalation of the barriers directly overlooking the stadium. The police had to use tear gas to prevent people from climbing the barriers.
Fans with tickets still outside at kick-off
While Camila Cabello began to sing for the opening ceremony of this final, some spectators with tickets were still on the wrong side of the gates.
Pepper spraying fans outside stadium in Paris pic.twitter.com/drgzEpR9gD
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) May 28, 2022
Mark Ogden, journalistESPN underlined this situation as Clément Turpin was about to whistle the kick-off. The stadium filled up over the meeting with Reds supporters who will surely remember their evening, not necessarily for the right reasons.
In a press release published at the end of the meeting, UEFA made a point of expressing itself on the situation. The European body explains that the turnstiles of the entrance reserved for Liverpool fans have been blocked “by thousands of fans who had bought fake tickets”. “This created a backlog of fans trying to get in. As a result, kick-off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many supporters as possible into the stadium”adds the organization.
Aware of the impact of these delays and the use of tear gas in front of a crowd including children, UEFA “compasses with those affected by these events and will urgently look into these matters with the French police and authorities, as well as with the French Football Federation”according to the press release.