French minister apologises for Champions League chaos
Gerald Darmanin initially blamed fraudulent Liverpool tickets for the May 28 chaos.
France's interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, apologized to Liverpool fans after he first said that Reds fans were to blame for the chaos at the Champions League final.
The European championship game in Paris had to be moved back twice because of crowds outside the Stade de France. At first, UEFA said this was for "security reasons." Real Madrid won the trophy by beating Liverpool 1-0, even though the game didn't start until 36 minutes late, at 21:36 local time. However, the news was mostly about what was happening outside the stadium.
At first, the French government said that between 30,000 and 40,000 fans had come without tickets. But Didier Lallement, the head of police in Paris, and some of Emmanuel Macron's political opponents questioned these numbers.
Lallement apologized to Liverpool fans earlier this month for the use of tear gas and the harsh way the police dealt with them. UEFA also sent a formal apology; a month after the match, on Tuesday, Darmanin said that at least some of the blame lies with the French government.
"Should the Stade de France have done a better job running things? Yes is the answer, "Darmanin told radio station RTL. "Am I at least partly to blame? Yes, that's the answer. I'm sorry to everyone who had a bad time because of how badly the event was run."
DISCLAIMER! Sportmob does not claim ownership of any of the pictures posted on this website. Again, we do not host pictures or videos ourselves. Our authors merely link to the rightful owner. Lastly, Sportmob have carefully considered and reviewed all of its content. Despite that, it is possible that some information might be out-dated or incomplete.