There is a serious football hooliganism problem in France at the moment and the usual CRS response is swift and violent - batons, teargas and pepper spray. Yesterday was not about hooliganism but unfortunately the CRS used the same tactics instead of a more measured response, add in the poor organisation on checking tickets and you have a recipe for chaos.
If you read the French press you’ll see that local hooligans also had fake tickets and climbed the fences to get in but it’s far easier to blame Liverpool fans to cover up the failure of UEFA and the French authorities to properly organise such a high profile event.
Liverpool Police say “the fans behaviour was exemplary”
Your picture shows otherwise, besides it having nothing to do with Liverpool Police in the first place.
wasn’t this event originally planned to be held in Russia but was changed at short notice to France?
Dammed if you do, damned if you don’t. The fans also blamed the airlines for cancelling flights from JL and other UK airports as well as the lengthy queues at Dover for the ferries… anybody but themselves to blame it seems.
Sorry what??!! It shows police using pepper spray on a group of people from behind tall iron railings that could not possibly have hurt them. Massive over reaction. Keep digging Graham!!
It is to do with Liverpool police because there is a lot of co operation and sharing of information between police certainty at continental level, it would not surprise me if there weren’t police officers in the crowd
I think you need to look at some of the on-line posts from French journalists and celebrities who couldn’t get in the stadium last night even though they had genuine tickets, they blamed the poor organisation and not Liverpool fans.
I’ve been to World Cups, Euros and big club games (including here in France) where security and checking of tickets has been very strict and never experienced a problem, last night was a complete cock-up simple as.
why are the police responsible for that?
I think you said UEFA had some responsibility for this, perhaps that is the correct view but blaming the Police is not fair in my view.
They have a job to do and they are damned if they do it and damned if they don’t.
Come on Graham, the CRS etc have a dreadful reputation and last night they weren’t faced by hardcore hooligans but women and kids queuing to get into the ground yet their response was to baton charge and let off tear gas.
Carl, there are dozens of photos/phone clips showing local hooligans climbing over the fences while others were arrested for selling fake tickets.
An urgent government meeting has been arranged for tomorrow morning to work out what went wrong last night and already they’re ‘backtracking’ on the initial narrative that it was the Liverpool fans causing the problems.
I never said he was a Liverpool fan - I only pointed out that the chap was climbing the fence hence the Policeman pointing the pepper-spray gun in his direction. One snapshot in time does not tell the whole story…
It’s not aimed at him, there’s different types of spray Two are used in the Uk I don’t know about France, one is more directional and one more like a cloud
I was at the Heinken Cup final last night, lots of drinking on the streets and partying (not me too much, age ) significant CRS presence, which I was happy to see. I spoke to a few, nice professional people. I trust the French police, a lot more than the corrupt Met anyway (see topic).
A hundred plus Liverpool fans arrested Were there any problems with the Real Madrid fans? I dunno but I reckon the cops knew what they were doing. Meanwhile, in the UK you can go to prison for gluing your hand to the pavement.
) significant CRS presence, which I was happy to see. I spoke to a few, nice professional people. I trust the French police, a lot more than the corrupt Met anyway (see topic).
Were there any problems with the Real Madrid fans? I dunno but I reckon the cops knew what they were doing. Meanwhile, in the UK you can go to prison for gluing your hand to the pavement.