Lhe outbursts that marked the Champions League final continue to make noise. After Liverpool, it’s Real Madrid’s turn to demand “answers” regarding the treatment inflicted on its supporters last Saturday. The Madrid club calls for “determining who is responsible” for the chaotic scenes at the Stade de France. In view of the “unfortunate events that took place on May 28”, Real Madrid wants to know “what criteria were taken into consideration” for Paris to host the final, the club wrote in a press release published in “defense of the supporters “.
“We also demand answers and explanations to determine who are those responsible for leaving the fans unguarded and defenseless”, continues the statement, which assures that the “Madridistas” had a “general behavior at all times exemplary”.
Spanish supporters victims of robberies and assaults
The most important match of the season in Europe, won by Real Madrid (1-0) against Liverpool, was marred by numerous incidents on Saturday, with the use of force deemed disproportionate by the French police. Many Liverpool fans with tickets had to wait hours to enter the stadium as police used tear gas and pepper spray to push back the crowd, which included children.
Several Real Madrid supporters were victims of crime after the match, including robberies and assaults. “As the uplifting media images have shown, many supporters have been assaulted, harassed, attacked […]. Some of them even had to spend the night in hospital due to their injuries,” Real Madrid said in their statement. “Our supporters deserve an answer but also that the relevant responsibilities be cleared so that situations like those experienced that evening are eradicated from football and sport forever,” added the club.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who has blamed British supporters from the start, believing that they are largely responsible for the incidents, apologized on Wednesday for the disastrous organization of the final. He however maintained his controversial version according to which the overflows would be linked to the fact that “35,000 supporters more than the expected gauge would have presented themselves at the Stade de France, provided according to him with falsified tickets or without a ticket.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has also demanded an apology from French authorities, while UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, has commissioned an independent report into the incidents.
