2022 Champions League final: ‘Complete breakdown of authority’, says Liverpool fan as he retraces the mayhem
Bringing Liverpool fan Daniel Nicolson back to the Stade de France was a chance for him to retrace a night he would rather forget.
But one he wants to ensure isn’t forgotten – to ensure the actions and inactions outside last year’s Champions League final are acted on.
Standing outside gate A, Mr Nicolson remembered: “A complete breakdown of any sort of authority.”
From authorities who initially tried to falsely deflect the blame on to ticketless Liverpool fans arriving too late for the climax of the season – a glamour final against Real Madrid.
Vindication has come with the publication of the review commissioned by UEFA that ended up assigning more blame on European football’s governing body than French officials entrusted with policing and crowd management.
The initial disorder was caused by local authorities beyond the Stade de France perimeters.
The routes Liverpool fans were directed to follow from a train station were long and chaotic.
There was a clear lack of stewarding to direct people to the correct access points.
And people were funnelled into bottlenecks and entry lanes that lacked a clear and safe means for those at the wrong entrance to leave.
“I just can’t believe they got it wrong,” Mr Nicolson said.
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Compounding the organisational disarray was the social unrest caused by locals attacking fans and attempting to climb over fences.
The use of tear gas and pepper spray was used far too proactively and intimidatingly by police to attempt to disperse those disruptive locals from the area.
Fans – particularly asthmatic ones – were caught up in it. Riot police fell to the ground as even they struggled with the chemicals.
Risks were exacerbated by fears of crushing as turnstiles were closed and fans were shut out.
In the mayhem, security officials tried to prevent media filming – grabbing at journalists to remove their fans and ordering footage to be deleted.
But the vast amount of footage quickly quashed the attempt at a cover-up. French authorities on the night of 28 May 2022 ordered UEFA to remove a reference to the locals being a source of disruption.
The review concluded the lack of coordination and control – outside of UEFA’s remit to dictate instructions to police – flowed from a strategy that viewed Liverpool fans as a threat.
They ended up being the ones left trying to prevent lives being lost as they confronted disarray and dangers on the outskirts of Paris.
Mr Nicolson said: “This cannot happen again. I was so relieved when the report came out and it vindicated us as fans.
“It exonerated us of any involvement in the absolute shambles that happened here. But it’s now time for UEFA to act upon those recommendations. Not just for us but for all football fans.”
Supporters are still waiting to hear a French response to UEFA’s report and guarantees they’ll be better protected in future.
In a club statement, Liverpool claimed recommendations to prevent organisational failures from an initial French senate inquiry are yet to be implemented.
And the UEFA review team found complacency around major event planning here.
Next year the Olympics are in Paris – using the Stade de France for the athletics events. And the International Olympic Committee told Sky News it has been assured changes recommended will be implemented at stadiums before then – at the men’s Rugby World Cup later this year.
Report co-author Prof Clifford Stott told Sky News: “We should be trying to work out how we can work together moving forward to ensure that situations like Paris never come about again.”
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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