The mayor of Liverpool sued the French authorities

the mayor of Liverpool, Steve Rothramharshly criticized the French authorities ’version of the incidents surrounding the Champions League finals, which he described as“ false ”, and complained that they used his city’s fans as“ scapegoats ”to hide the bad organization.

Rotheram, who appeared via videoconference before a French Senate commission set to clarify events on the night of May 28, was particularly harsh on the French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin.

Initially, the French politician placed the responsibility for the riot on 30,000 to 40,000 fans Liverpoolthat is, according to the version of darmaninpresented themselves at the Stade de France of counterfeit banknotes.

“He tried to fool the media around the world”

“Darmanin tried to deceive not only the French public, but the media around the world,” he said.

“The French authorities – he added – have made a campaign to blame others and look for goats. Liverpool fans are a very practical excuse to divert attention from poor preparation.”

The British Labor politician said he had been to France several times to attend other football matches and “had not” seen “such a failure of public order and organization.”

In the first place, he asked if there were between 30,000 and 40,000 fans Liverpool with fake tickets trying to access the stadium and the alleged reason for this widespread forgery was that the English club essentially ordered tickets on paper, while the real Madrid He asked for electronic tickets, as is customary in Champions League matches.

To prove this, he referred to the fact that there are also a significant number of Real Madrid fans who have refused to enter the Stade de France (a third, according to the French government), despite the fact that they carry electronic tickets.

Therefore, his hypothesis has a problem with scanners not reading the charges correctly. In any case, he noted that, if known that there was potential risk in paper tickets, those responsible for the organization should have seen this in advance.

“One night’s dream turned into a nightmare”

The mayor explained that there were thousands of fans from his city who traveled to Paris despite not having tickets because “they wanted to take advantage of the atmosphere”, and stressed that they were well received: “Parisians are very welcome . made us feel like we were at home. “

But that too, from his own personal experience on the night of the final, the problems started when they traveled from Paris to nearby Saint-Denis, where the stadium is located: “When I got off the subway, I noticed changing environment.And one night’s sleep turned into a nightmare.

In particular, French law enforcement forces forced fans to climb several barriers to gain access to the stadium’s esplanade, and, when jumping into them, the mayor himself was robbed of his wallet, tickets and mobile phone.

“But that’s not a big deal compared to the testimonies of other people who have experienced more violent theft,” he said.

For the mayor, the French government used “this ticket issue to create the wrong version of events”, “a way to use Liverpool fans as scapegoats”.

Lallement assumes responsibility

time before the declaration of rotheramthe Prefect of Police of Paris appeared before the French Senate commission, Didier Lallementhead of security device on the night of Real Madrid-Liverpoolwho recognized a “failure”, and took responsibility for the decisions made.

Lallement admitted that some people were attacked when the aim was to protect them and the police action had “damaged France’s image.”