Both Real Madrid and Liverpool supporters are still united in their quest to get answers and apologies from both UEFA and the French authorities after what happened to them during the last season’s UEFA Champions League final in Paris.
The chaos at the Stade de France, where fans were attacked and mugged by unchecked gangs of neighborhood youths after being subjected to attacks and muggings while being held for hours in dangerous crushes outside the stadium, overshadowed the title game of European club football. The independent review by UEFA is in progress.
It is headed by Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, a former education minister of Portugal, and plans to release its preliminary conclusions at the end of September before publishing a comprehensive report in November. While this is going on, the French senate has begun its own investigation into what happened in Paris on May 28.
The results of this investigation will be made public later this month. While discussing about the ugly incident, Joe Blott, chair of Spirit of Shankly, from the Liverpool supporters’ union said: “Apologies are one thing, but an apology needs to come with action, and that action is a full parliamentary inquiry, and a retraction of the lies which were stated so publicly, even before a ball had been kicked in Paris.”
Disgraceful.
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) May 28, 2022
The game feels unimportant right now, to be perfectly honest. https://t.co/ovkAy5K6zA
Police and politicians are under close examination in France, particularly interior minister Gerald Darmanin, whose propaganda campaign against Liverpool fans have sparked such resentment and grief. Darmanin’s appearances before the senate on June 1, in which he claimed that up to 40,000 people had attempted to enter the stadium without valid tickets and that fans had arrived late and drunk, drew widespread criticism.
Francois-Noel Buffet, one of the co-chairs of the senate’s inquiry, dismissed Darmanin’s appearances this week as “bullsh*t”. Last week, Darmanin did make some type of apologies, telling the French radio station RTL that the situation ought to have been “handled better” and that he was “partly accountable” for what had transpired.
UEFA Champions League organizers also need to answer some questions. Since the final, Liverpool and Real Madrid have maintained constant communication.
Both advised Dr. Brandao Rodrigues’ investigating panel to include Kenny Scott, a retired police chief superintendent who oversaw UEFA’s safety and security operations from 2017 to 2021.
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing investigation, the two teams are already busy in the current summer transfer window and have made some signings.
