An independent investigation ordered by the European Football Association (Uefa) came to the conclusion two years ago that people may have died during the chaotic scenes surrounding the men's Champions League final in football between Real Madrid and Liverpool in 2022.
The match was delayed for nearly 40 minutes after unrest and congestion outside the Stade de France stadium north of Paris, and afterwards, both Uefa and French authorities pointed to Liverpool fans who had arrived at the stadium without tickets as the cause of the chaos.
Uefa's own investigation dismissed the theories, and now, three years after the event, France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin is finally making amends and admitting that it was their security arrangements that failed.
Darmanin, at the time Interior Minister, claimed during the final that up to 40,000 Liverpool fans had arrived at the Stade de France with fake tickets or without any.
Yes, it was a mistake. Because I had not checked what happened thoroughly enough, which was my own fault, and because I gave in to preconceived opinions, says Gérald Darmanin in an interview with
.
I apologize to the Liverpool fans.
Contrary to Darmanin's initial claim, only 2,471 counterfeit tickets were identified during the Champions League final.
