Chimes perfectly with most of the other credible accounts. But there isn’t a cat in hell’s chance that the official French version of events will change until , or even if , there has been a full independent investigation.
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Leading the independent investigation…
I was thinking this today. If they don’t take this incident seriously, I’d start thinking differently about a break-off. And so would probably a lot of people who were dead-set against it the first time, like I was.
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I was fine with it apart from the basic lack of meritocracy. The closed shop nature of it. Sort that out and I’m interested
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Same here. After Saturday I’m completely done with UEFA. Especially with their shitshow of a Champions League format coming up.
Absolutely horrific indeed… 
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There are so many empty seats at Roland Garros. I wonder if the french police have been at it again 
A populair phrase in Dutch nowadays is: we don’t recognize ourselves in the outcome of this investigation. 
That’s the same every year. They don’t really turn up until the semifinals. There may be an exception this year with Novax and Nadal meeting in the QF.
It would have to be led by people who want to improve the game, Florentino Perez isn’t one.
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I’ve read some of the first hand reports and it’s shocking.
It’s like the French studied Hillsboro and instead of learning better process from it went out of their way to try to recreate it. Why in the world were so many gates closed??? The pony of building g all the gates in a stadium is so you can safely get fans in.
Good (not exactly the right word) to see complainants and confirmation coming out of Spain and Real Madrid confirming the issues and further exposing French police lies.
Glad there at least seem to be few if any serious injuries resulting from the organizers felony incompetence
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.
Thing is, there aren’t many you can say that don’t act in self interest.
FARE, FifPro, Fan groups, PFAs…
But an amalgamation of all different interests and maybe we’ll get somewhere
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Packed in under a bridge, in long single file lines?
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I’m 100 percent with you. The game takes a back seat to the shameful treatment endured by match going fans
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Yes but only as observers (it’s also said they are their in a consultancy role but no ‘local’ police force in the world would listen to some one who knows what being dealt with above all the French police).
1st paragrapgh ‘inexperienced police’ what the fuck are they going on about, most of them were CRS, it’s not that they are inexperienced it’s that they have only one mode of operation, hit 1st and hit again. These are highly train police.
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FFS there has been many social documentaries about St Denis and all the ‘special’ social work going on there. Ok it’s not all st Denis but much of it is as depraved as Nanterre!
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This is what was feared when the law against filming an officer on duty came out. That the police would abuse it and take the law into their own hands. This should be a major scandale in France.
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also reported here about the gang attacks on fans…
A Liverpool fan says he can’t believe no one died in crush and slashing incidents at the Stade de France in Paris at the Champions League final.
Inverness businessman Iain Mackintosh, 58, who is better known as Tosh, said he remained in shock on Monday after Saturday’s match after having to fight off gangs of youths with a flag pole and climb 10ft fences to get out of the stadium.
Mr Mackintosh was at the Heysel Stadium in Belgium when 39 people were killed at a Liverpool v Juventus European Cup final in 1985 – but believes the post-match exit from Paris was “much worse”.
He said: “I can’t believe that nobody died.
“I will never be back in Paris. It was an absolute disgrace.”
‘Police were the problem’
Mr Mackintosh who supports Liverpool from his home in Inverness has attended matches all season and has not missed an away European match since 2010.
He attended eight games in the lead up to the final, and said he was looking forward to the match.
He had even booked himself a room in Montmartre to enjoy the post-game camaraderie in the city.
Liverpool fans in the fanzone in Paris, react after seeing their team lose against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final at the Stade de France. Photo credit: Jacob King/PA Wire
But for Mr Mackintosh, things turned sour before fans even got into the stadium.
He said: “From the outset the police were the problem.
“I was at the Heysel game when disaster struck, and this was much worse. There was chaos.
“How no one died is a miracle.”
Iain Mackintosh climbed 10ft fence to escape ground
Champions League
Iain MacKintosh was caught up in the Stade de France for the Champions League final on Saturday night.
Queued for four hours outside stadium
On the way into the match, Mr Mackintosh said people were being squashed and sprayed by tear gas by police.
Disputing claims from police who said it was due to fake tickets, he said: “I was with my friend and his girlfriend and his two children aged 12 and five, and the police still didn’t let us through.
“We had genuine tickets and we arrived early.
“At one point two motorbikes came through the crowd, the police let them and people’s legs were burnt from the exhaust fumes.
“I am still in a state of shock.”
He continued: “We started queueing at 5pm, and we did not get into the stadium until 9.30pm. The match started at 9pm. When we got in, we believed the worst of it was over – and we were thinking ‘why did we bother’.
“It was 1,000 times worse trying to get out the grounds. All the gates were locked. The police had tear gas coming over us. I eventually had to climb over a 10ft gate to get out.
“We were all choking and coughing, we were all in shock about what was happening.
Liverpool fans in the fanzone in Paris, watching on the big screen their team playing Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final at the Stade de France. Picture by Jacob King/PA Wire
“The French fans were attacking us. There were no police about. It was the worse I have ever seen at any football match.
“My friend’s children were traumatised. The five-year-old was getting crushed.
“At Heysel we didn’t know until the following day that 39 people had been killed.”
Met by gangs of youths with knives outside
Mr Mackintosh describes finally getting out the stadium to be met with gangs of youths who were wanting to fight.
He said: “I had a pole for my flag and I genuinely think that is what kept me safe.
“These groups of guys were slashing people with knives, they were robbing people’s phones. I was frightened to take my phone out to take any photos or to phone someone.
“It was horrific. When I eventually got into the station there were no taxis, I had to walk back to my hotel in the end. I got back at 2.20am.
“The problem was they did not want Liverpool to have anything to do with the final. This was not Madrid fans, we get on great.”
Inquest into what caused fans’ problems
Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the scenes in Paris as “deeply upsetting and concerning”.
Merseyside Police, who were in France as part of the event, praised the behaviour of Liverpool fans as “exemplary”.
The UK Government has called for an investigation into what caused the frightening scenes outside the ground.
French officials have blamed a collection of factors, including a transport strike, “industrial-scale ticket fraud” and travelling British fans staying longer in fan zones compared to those from Madrid.
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