| dbo:abstract
|
- Prior to the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final between English team Liverpool and Spanish team Real Madrid on the evening of 28 May 2022, crowd control descended into chaos at the entrances to the Stade de France in the low-income suburb of Saint-Denis, France. With a large build-up of fans around the stadium unable to gain access to the stadium in the hours prior to the scheduled kick-off time of 21:00 CET, French police attacked fans unprovoked with the use of tear gas and pepper spray. These actions were later defended by organisers UEFA and several French political figures, who accused supporters of Liverpool, of whom tens of thousands had travelled to the city, of disorderly conduct, including attempting to gain access to the stadium with counterfeit tickets and penetrating the stadium illegally. This led to the game beginning 36 minutes behind schedule, and resulted in dozens of arrests and hundreds of injuries. Supporters, journalists, and political figures were quick to dispute the initial story of fan disorder, with videos and eyewitness testimony demonstrably proving otherwise. Collectively, they accused the organisers and security of major disorganisation and unpreparedness, as well as of smearing supporters using outdated stereotypes. A full enquiry has been commissioned by UEFA. (en)
|
