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Real Madrid fans at the Stade de France
Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Real Madrid is calling for the riots surrounding the Champions League final at the Stade de France to be dealt with quickly.
For the first time, the Spanish club made a statement about the chaos in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis - also to protect its fans "who became victims of the events".
Real would like to know from the organizers what measures have been taken to protect fans.
The club also complained of attacks on its football fans.
»Fans had to fear for their physical integrity.
Some of them even had to spend the night in the hospital because of injuries sustained," writes Real Madrid: "Football has given the world an image that is far removed from the values and goals that it must always pursue."
The game, which Real won 1-0, was delayed by more than 30 minutes after chaotic scenes erupted outside the stadium.
The police sprayed tear gas against fans, including women and children.
Home Secretary wanted to make Liverpool fans a scapegoat
France's Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin put the main blame on Liverpool fans, saying 30,000 to 40,000 fans had turned up without valid tickets, leading to a crowd at the stadium and people trying to force their way in.
There is no evidence for this representation.
On the contrary: it is now said that only 2800 counterfeit tickets had been scanned.
Darmanin's version of escalating Liverpool fans has been contested by several parties.
Eyewitnesses report that the vast majority of Reds supporters behaved in an exemplary manner in the chaos and avoided further escalation.
"Without the level-headed reaction of the Liverpool fans, who urged each other to remain calm, it could have led to a catastrophe," Ronan Evain, board member of the fan advocacy group Football Supporters Europe (FSE), told SPIEGEL.
The 35-year-old Frenchman was there.
Darmanin has now acknowledged that police were surprised by several hundred local troublemakers.
Liverpool fans had reported massive assaults, thefts and hostilities.
According to eyewitnesses, the perpetrators are said to have been young people from the surrounding suburbs.
Even after the game, they are said to have ambushed football fans around the stadium.
French politicians are also concerned about the attacks, and parliamentary elections will be held in a few days.
Saint-Denis in the north of the French capital is known for having one of the highest crime rates in the country.
Fans were harassed, attacked and robbed
Real Madrid fans are said to have had the same experience.
In his statement, the Champions League winner writes about fans who have been harassed, attacked and robbed.
Real Madrid does not write who was responsible for this.
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan on Thursday again called for an investigation into the incidents, adding that both Liverpool and Real fans have suffered.
The European football association Uefa has commissioned an independent investigation into the incident.
French Sport Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said on Monday that she would present a report within 10 days.
For France it is also about the reputation as a host, in 2024 the Summer Olympics will take place in Paris.
jan/Reuters
