Champions league final 2022

Not sure why I should bother writing this up, but I will, simply as I can't be arsed responding to the many ignorant and hateful comments that will be made online.  But for those people who are unsure of what went on, read away and feel free to share away.

First up some pointers.  Have seen articles in the Guardian and the Mail, both of which tell a story of the chaos and disorganisation of the entry, of heavy handed violent reactionary policing as events unfolded.  Twitter is also awash with first hand experience and videos of fans and their experiences including complaints post match too.

Will try to stick to my own experiences and those I spoke to and/or identify the source of any comments.

First up Paris.  Me and my mates avoided the fanzone for a couple of reasons.  We knew it would be crowded, very crowded.  Myself and a couple of fellow survivors had all been at Hillsborough, so none of us like crowded environments.  Far better to simply enjoy the sunshine, beer and French food in Montmatre where we are all staying. 

We all had match tickets and spent the afternoon slowly downing a few beers.  Between us we had substantial knowledge/experience of the Stade, of Paris (CRS) policing and crucially one of our number had earlier spoken to a French politician and club official so we knew the level of policing, match timings and expected travel problems.  All in there were good reasons to head to the ground early, and so we arranged an Uber to take us the 3 miles to the stadium.

An Uber meant we would avoid the rammed Metro and we could get 5 traveling into the cab.  We ordered one at 6.30pm which meant an eta of around 7pm at the Stade.  Plenty of time to manage the ticket and security checks before making our way to our seats.

Things started to feel tense as the traffic got heavy around a mile or so from the ground.  Sirened police vans fought through the traffic and the odd VIP was queue jumped but the rest of us plebs in cars/taxis hit gridlock.  Word came through the LFC coach was stuck/late and we got to within 500m of the ground around 7.45pm.  People were jumping out of cabs and walking but it was clear pedestrians were not welcome on what was a throughway.  Police officers made people climb over barrier to join a parallel road so as to prevent them walking on the road.

Eventually we got next to the stadium and witnessed the chaos of fans at a bottle neck up to the ground.  There was plenty of frustration on display, riot police and very little evidence of people moving.  From press reports I believe the ground was as this stage "locked down" and that tallies with what we saw.

Knowing that our gates were the opposite end of the stadium and that noone was entering here, we opted to walk around to the next access area.  As we walked round riot police barged their way through.  Some police were climbing a fence to exit the ground and join them and I offered a hand to one who had a big drop.  He refused, landed on his arse and carried on.  Sad that football fans are seen so poorly that a genuine offer was refused, but that's his call.

So I'd guess around 8pm we make it to the next entry point.  At this point I see maybe a dozen local french youth scaling fences.  Some are caught, some are not. 

So we get to the entry point and are met with a frustrated crowd.  Clearly there are a number of ticketless locals trying to bunk in and no doubt a pick pocket or two.  I heard a few fans later say they felt hands going for wallets etc.  Saint Denis is in a very deprived part of Paris and it seems some of the locals were likely using the opportunity for petty crime.  

Two riot vans are parked and the fans are funneled through to a ticket check and then a bag search.  They were set up to check maybe 4 people at a time.  They did this and progress was slow, very slow.  The bottle neck meant a level of crushing that was always going to be a trigger for anyone who had experienced the crushes at Hillsborough.

A couple of times I thought of leaving but it wasn't at the point of panic. And after maybe 15 minutes I couldn't really have left anyway. Twice a "mobile" of around 20 riot police came and fought their way through the crowd. A few words were exchanged but the officers were following orders and tried not to be overly aggressive. I think the last police made a line say 10 across and 2 deep and I soon found myself pushed up again a riot shield.

After I landed on the riot shield I apologised and said '"pardon" worried I might get a baton and unable to lift my arms to defend myself.  I was basically bounced along 3 riot shields to a gap where they were letting people through. I have to say that after Hillsborough that was definitely the least comfortable I have been at a match in 33 years.  On a number of times people shouted at others to get back and generally they did. I heard later that that "cordon" collapsed and fans were just let in but I can't verify that. I had my ticket checked twice, was waved through the bag check and made my way onto the concourse, naively thinking all would be good now.

It was 8.30pm and my only concern was we had lost Ade. I wondered if he had turned away but I heard later he got in, albeit shaken up like everyone else. I made my way round to Gate A (as per my ticket) and passed half a dozen gates with barriers and fans queuing but no one seemed to be getting though. I did see a couple more locals jumping fences, probably with a 75% success rate.

When I made it to Gate A I was met with a much less crowded/dangerous queue albeit one that wasn't moving. The people I spoke to were exasperated and some were leaving, scared at what was developing. Ten mins before I got there some fans (as reported to me as French) had jumped a fence and the police had responded with tear gas. Lots of people had sore eyes, but I cant say if it was tear gas or pepper spray. But either way, the police had used one or the other and on fans who were simply waiting to get through a gate.

Everyone seemed to have tickets and when someone suggested climbimg the fence pretty much everyone was like "Why? We have a ticket?" A number of people had been directed from other gates but most were Gate A holders. Word came through of a delay to kickoff as the clock went passed 9pm, local kick off time.

After a few more minutes the queue did start to move but word came that Gate C was clear so I tried that and sure enough was met by 4 moving queues instead of one and I soon got close to the entry point. I first saw a local arguing (his ticket was fake) and they were close to fighting, I grabbed him by shoulders and through him away and a fellow fan went through.

I took my seat at 9.15 and breathed a large sigh of relief. There was no overcrowding in the seats but there were people stood in the aisles. That could have been for a number of reasons, people wanting to stand with mates, people who had been sold fake tickets or people bunking in. Ref the later it is fair to say the ones I witnessed climbing fences were all local youths.

After the game there were reports of people being tear gassed on approaching the station. I think what actually happened was some local youths dropped some pyro into the crowds rather than the police tear gassing anyone. I have been teargassed twice previously and the smell was of pyro. Unpleasant for sure but not the "police attacks" I read about, not where I was. The train station was well organised. Onto the second train and ferried back to the Gare de nord safely and quickly. 

A quick note on how it compared to France 98. From memory the organisation was far better then with a wider "exclusion zone" and more checks. I quess this match, like Wembley final for the Euros, attracted a lot more chancers but that is not to excuse the disorganisation and police responses. Serious questions need to be asked and maybe paper tickets need to go for big matches? The initial response from Uefa that fans were late is a downright lie, quickly debunked.

The now reported issues of fake tickets were clearly made worse by some ticketless fans (local from what I saw) and some reactionary and violent police responses. Sadly those

What strikes me is those who broke in seemed to get away with it whilst the police response was to tear gas and spray those with tickets. Press reports of difficulties getting in for dignitaries, players friends and families expose the lies of Uefa. Worse was a report of a journo being made to wipe phone footage he took of some of the chaos. Gladly initial reports seem to be hitting the spot, namely thousands of innocent fans were put in a dangerous position. And those responsible for keeping them safe (Uefa and the French police) failed miserably to do that.

And I have seen up close the result of disorganisation and violent reactionary policing at Hillsborough. It should never be accepted to target innocent fans because of the behaviour of a minority. Organise the fan entry points safely rather than rely on police violence if/when problems occur.

Glad to see the truth emerging and shame on all those who chose to believe and or repeat the lies without stopping to check for themselves the facts.   Some morons really have learned nothing 33 years after Hillsborough.   And I include every single apologist for the French police in that statement.