But for that, we need a strong UEFA who will stand up for both clubs, as it seems that Real Madrid fans experienced problems too, albeit lesser ones. The French government will just try to cover up the failings of their police, as usual, and point the blame somewhere else. So, UEFA, it’s up to you to do your job now, ask the critical questions and thoroughly investigate what happened.
“Journalists caught up in the chaos allege they were ‘forced to delete’ incriminating footage of the heavy-handed security response before UEFA officials intervened to calm the situation”
We were lucky that so many people in the media were caught up in this. If it was just fans accounts no one would believe it. There’s been a lot of focus on what happened before the game but after sounds terrible too. Local gangs attacking fans on the way to the station and police doing nothing to stop it. I see the French Sports Minister has said this morning there were 30 – 40,000 Liverpool fans without tickets. Yes, in the fan park perhaps but they weren’t all queuing to get in the game. I don’t think the French are going to shift from the narrative that it’s the fans fault. Too much at stake with the Olympics coming up.
I was really, really, afraid that something like the Hillsborough or the Heysel might happen and I was really, really, afraid that we will be blamed for that.
Same experience, what a shame to see a city like this taken over by criminals. Robbed and intimidated and to top it off gassed by the police for no reason. Not a single bad experience with the English, we shared the day mixed in the city and I didn’t see a single hint of conflict.
I think that I’ve posted elsewhere that the fact it was our fans with a knowledge of what happened on those occasions that probably prevented that as the fans stayed relatively calm, even when attacked. Had it been another set of supporters it is possible that they could have panicked we could have witnessed another tragedy.
Is it wrong that I’m literally not arsed about the game last night. As soon as I saw our players in the warm up nervously scanning the stands for their loved ones, I knew it was done. I just knew.
The miracles on Saturday was that a) no-one was killed b) there was enough journalist presence in the throng that the narrative that UEFA and Paris tried to establish failed.
We nearly had another Hillsborough here. The parallels are terrifying. Not just the safety of fans, but the first reflex of the authorities being to attempt to shift the blame on the fans. And the police doing their damned best to ensure that if people didn’t believe their lie about crowd trouble, they’d do their best to create crowd trouble.
Massive credit to Liverpool fans keeping their cool and not riding to the provocation.
Very much my feeling as well. Once I saw reports of the problems outside I just wanted people to be safe and I couldn’t have really cared if they just cancelled the game.
Of course. Anyone who thinks that they were going to be able to play at their best are lacking basic empathy. They didn’t know if their loved ones were safe. In the warm up, they are clearly scanning the crowd looking for people they know.
I said to my lad during the warm up, they look like a game of football is the last thing on their minds.