The independent investigation commissioned at the end of May by UEFA into the security fiasco of the Champions League final at the Stade de France began this week and should deliver its conclusions
"in September"
, estimated a leader of the European body heard. Tuesday in the Senate.
"Everyone must be questioned in the investigation, it started this week
," said Martin Kallen, managing director of UEFA Events, UEFA's subsidiary in charge of commercial event operations.
“We thought that the investigation would take at least two or three months.
As it starts now, you could say somewhere in September”
, he argued before the senatorial delegation which is working on the incidents at the Stade de France.
UEFA has entrusted its internal investigation to the former Portuguese Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues.
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In front of the senators, Martin Kallen returned to the role of UEFA in this final: the organizing body of the Champions League in particular keeps control of the ticket office, a source of controversy since the French authorities initially put the incidents on the account of a
"massive fraud"
with counterfeit tickets, arousing the anger of supporters' associations.
For the manager, paper tickets, which are easier to falsify, were less appropriate than certified electronic tickets.
But
"it's not just the paper tickets that created the chaos outside the doors
," he argued.
“The causes are multiple: transport strike, bad reactions from stewards, law enforcement, there have been delinquents
(in the perimeter, Editor's note),
an extremely large flow in front of the stadium without tickets or with counterfeit tickets.
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Many supporters (particularly of Liverpool) remained blocked in front of the gates of the Stade de France before the final of the Champions League (May 28).
Panoramic
"
We had about 2,600 counterfeit notes
"
The official has in passing demolished the controversial figure of
“30,000 to 40,000 English supporters”
with counterfeit tickets or without tickets.
Data initially mentioned by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin.
“We had around 2,600 tickets brought to the turnstiles that were fake
,” said Martin Kallen.
“But a lot of counterfeit tickets never made it to the turnstiles.
(...) How much?
We don't know, we couldn't really check.
We do not believe that was the figure mentioned after the first days in France, more or less 30,000 to 40,000
,” he said.
Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters must in turn be heard by the Senate on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
