Posted 06/09/2022 13:16
(Credit: Thomas Coex/AFP)
Didier Lallmann, Paris police chief, admitted Thursday that there were loopholes in the security scheme for the Champions League final. He also admitted that he may have been wrong when he claimed that about 40,000 Liverpool fans tried to enter the Stade de France with fake tickets.
Laliment participated in a hearing in the French Senate to clarify some points of the police action that it implemented before the match that ended in the Real Madrid title. The final, which took place on May 28, was marked by the scenes that preceded it: fans invade the stadium as police fire pepper spray, including at children, and people hit the bars.
The police chief said during the hearing, before considering the performance of security officers.
“Did we make sure that the match was played and, more importantly, that we didn’t have serious injuries or deaths? (using pepper spray) was the only way we could find, it was the best way to break up the people who were in the area I know innocents were beaten and I’m sorry for that , but I repeat, there was no other way, ”he defended himself.
In the first days after the incident, the French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, together with the police presented the thesis that about 40 thousand Britons entered the stadium with fake tickets. The copy was challenged by fans, who would have been blocked even with legitimate entries, and by the British press.
“I may be wrong about the number between 30,000 and 40,000 fans that I have passed on to the Minister of the Interior,” Lallment admitted. “Anyway, whether it’s 40,000 or 30,000 or 20,000, it doesn’t change the fact that we have thousands of people who haven’t had access to the game.”
Under pressure from senators to reveal evidence supporting the numbers, the police chief took over. “I was the one who gave this value to the minister and I fully preserve it.” As the facts become clear, concern is growing about France’s ability to host other major sporting events, such as next year’s Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games.
