"I've never been so scared in my life."
In an interview given to RMC Sport, the rising star of MMA, a combat sport that mixes different martial arts, the Briton Paddy Pimblett looks back on the chaos at the Stade de France during the Champions League final on Saturday, while an important new match is coming up this Friday.
“There were groups of thirty people running around.
Big packs.
Some of them had weapons, machetes, knives, iron bars, bats…”, says the fighter.
These people had the intention of snatching bags and stealing the belongings of supporters near the Stade de France, according to him.
If Paddy Pimblett was not a direct victim of these incidents, he says he made the decision to walk together to reduce the risk of aggression.
For him, if the worst moment of the evening remains the return, complicated by raids of thieves, the beginning of the evening was also a source of great concern.
“It was really after the match, at the exit of the stadium, that it was the worst.
But entering the stadium was already complicated.
The police were throwing tear gas at everyone.
In the small sections that we had to cross to get to the stadium, they pinned and crushed thousands of people between certain intervals,” he said.
VIDEO.
"Don't go to the Olympics in Paris": disgusted English fans after their nightmare evening at the Stade de France
The athlete highlights a lack of communication from the police: “And when we asked the police what was going on, they laughed in our face.
Like I said, I've never been so scared for my safety and the safety of the people around me as when I walked out of that stadium on Saturday night."
Like many people present at the Stadium, he protests against the explanations of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, who refers the chaos to the presence of Liverpool supporters without a ticket: “A total and enormous lie.
This man should resign from his position because he is disgusting and despicable.
It's so easy to use Liverpool fans as scapegoats…”
Read also Incidents at the Stade de France: how Darmanin, under pressure, is forced to change your tone
The rising star of MMA in the lightweight category was offended to see what he considers a free pass granted to Cyril Hanouna and explains that he no longer wants to return to Paris.