London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

Champions League final: France blames 'massive' ticket fraud as policing row rages

Champions League final: France blames 'massive' ticket fraud as policing row rages

France has hit out at what it says was "industrial-scale" ticket fraud at Saturday's Champions League final amid a row over the game's policing.

Ministers acknowledged difficulties in managing crowds at the final in Paris, but say organised fraud was the root cause of the problems.

Liverpool ticket-holders were seen waiting in huge queues, with French police later using tear gas on crowds.

The treatment of fans was "an absolute disgrace," one Liverpool fan said.

Tom Whitehurst said he had to get his disabled son "out of the way" after they were pepper-sprayed.

"[Fans] were indiscriminately pepper-sprayed and there were people with tickets, who arrived two-and-a-half hours early, who were queuing up and they were charged at by riot police with shields."

Another supporter, Michael Carter, told the BBC people further back in the queue "were lifting each other up and over the walls because they were being crushed".

The BBC's sports journalist Nick Parrott, who was in Paris, said "it was the most petrifying experience I've ever had at a football match". He tweeted that locals were "trying to force their way in leading to security closing the gates and keeping out legitimate fans with tickets".

Amid a chorus of criticism from the UK, the French sports ministry has been meeting Europe's football governing body Uefa, the French Football Association and stadium officials and police to "draw lessons" from the event.

Uefa has now commissioned an independent report into the events surrounding the match. The French sports ministry also commissioned its own summary report, due within 10 days.

France's interior and sports ministers have been pointing blame for the chaos at fans with fake tickets and local youths trying to force their way into the stadium.

Interior minister Gérald Darmanin said "massive, industrial-scale" ticket fraud had caused Liverpool fans to turn up en masse, and said that of about 30 arrests made at the Stade de France "more than half concerned British citizens". He stated that there had been 30,000 to 40,000 Liverpool fans with fake tickets or without tickets outside the stadium.

Mr Darmanin also defended the police's actions, stating that "the decisions taken prevented deaths or serious injury".

"We regret a disorganisation in the admission of British supporters," he said.

Speaking earlier on French radio, sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said there were "no problems" regarding Real supporters and the Spanish side had controlled their travelling fans better than Liverpool.

But a spokesperson for France's independent police commissioner's union (SICP), Mathieu Valet, told the BBC's Newshour that "supporters without tickets or with fake tickets... were not the main problem."

"It's clear that we needed more police - we didn't have enough on the ground," he added.


So the French government recognises that the policing was at times heavy-handed, and that the difficulties getting fans from the train station should have been predicted after a strike.

But it insists that there would have been none of the chaos without the presence of "30-40,000" ticketless Liverpool supporters.

All of this will have to be verified.

If it is true that seven out of ten tickets checked at the first perimeter turned out to be fraudulent, then that does indeed suggest a scam of monumental proportions - enough to render useless even the best-laid policing plans.

But plenty of people - French as well as British - who were there on Saturday night question the government's version. They wonder if blaming Liverpool isn't a convenient way of shucking off responsibility closer to home.

And if there were 30-40,000 ticketless people milling around the stadium as the match got under way, how come that is not what journalists remember seeing? That number of disappointed and aimless fans don't just disappear.

Liverpool fans are angry with the French, and with UEFA for blaming them for the disastrous evening. The chaos will probably turn out to have multiple causes.

But from the French point of view, pointing the finger at convenient foreign scapegoats would be particularly short-sighted.

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described footage from the Stade de France at the weekend as "deeply upsetting and concerning" and called for a full investigation.

Uefa initially blamed the "late arrival" of fans for the problems.

But Merseyside police, who are responsible for policing in Liverpool and were present in Paris, said the vast majority of Liverpool fans arrived early at the turnstiles and behaved in an "exemplary manner".

Saturday's TV footage showed young men who did not appear to be wearing red Liverpool shirts jumping the stadium gates and then running away from security.

Liverpool fans spoke of long queues building up hours before the match started, and the final was delayed by 35 minutes by the trouble outside the stadium.

The chaos continued after the match ended. One Real Madrid supporter, Antonio Castaño, told the BBC there were "organised groups robbing people, harassing them, breaking car windows, it was absolute chaos.

"I've been to games in Liverpool, Munich, Milan, London, Cardiff, to Russia. I've never seen anything like this," he said. "There weren't enough police, there weren't enough resources and there wasn't enough respect for the fans. We were left high and dry, both the Spanish fans and the English ones."


Watch: Piecing together fan videos of crowding and pepper spray at Champions League final


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
×