Rising star of the UFC, the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, Paddy Pimblett made the trip to Paris for the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
This inveterate supporter of the Reds, emeritus fighter, delivers a powerful testimony at the microphone of RMC on the serious incidents which occurred in Saint-Denis.
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“
At least in a cage (of MMA), it's one-on-one… When we left the stadium, there were groups of thirty people running around.
Big packs.
Some of them had weapons, machetes, knives, iron bars, bats…
, says the English athlete.
You just had to try to escape from this place.
People were put on the ground, their watches and their belongings were stolen.
Some had their bags snatched away.
They grabbed them, pulled them towards them and cut the strap to tear off the bag and run
.
Coming to Paris with his uncle and friends, Paddy Pimblett also experienced the chaos that preceded the kick-off of the meeting.
“
Before the match, I also saw people having their tickets snatched away, things like that.
But it was really after the match, at the exit of the stadium, that it was the worst.
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.
And when we asked the police what was going on, they laughed at us.
Like I said, I've never been more afraid for my safety and the safety of the people around me than when I walked out of that stadium on Saturday night.
»
“There were no more laws”
“
There were people running around with machetes!
, he continues.
I've been repeating it for a few days: the only thing I can compare this to is the movie American Nightmare.
Have you seen this movie?
The one where you have the right to do everything for twelve hours?
It looked like this.
It was my impression.
There were no more laws, you could do whatever you wanted.
»
Like all Liverpool supporters, the MMA fighter refutes Gérald Darmanin's version of the presence of tens of thousands of ticketless supporters.
"
This man should resign from his post because he is disgusting and despicable, he breathes.
It's so easy to use Liverpool fans as scapegoats… When I arrived with my ticket, which I had gotten directly from the Liverpool club, the steward tried to tell me that my ticket was wrong!
He used the stylus to scan it and told me it was fake.
I reacted by telling him that it was nonsense because I had obtained it by the club.
He replied 'Oh, yes, ok…' and he gave it back to me.
I think it happened to several other people: they were scared, did not react, the steward kept their ticket and another sold it to someone.
»
Read alsoChaos at the Stade de France: the British press unravels the "lies" of Gérald Darmanin
The 27-year-old Liverpool native is not about to set foot in the French capital again.
“
I will never go back to this stadium again.
Never,
he says
.
I even tell myself that I will not go to Paris with my partner.
They say it's a romantic city but after that, after what I've been through, I won't go there with her.
Or just one or two days staying in the center of the city, just enough time to see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
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