French former interior minister apologises to Liverpool fans for being used as "scapegoat" at Champions League 2022

France's former interior minister Gérald Darmanin has spoken about the security failure and the incidents that happened at the Champions League final in 2022 that took place in Paris, and for the first time has apologised to Liverpool fans, who were used as "scapegoat" (via BBC).

The match, between Liverpool and Real Madrid, was preceded by scenes of chaos when thousands of Liverpool fans tried to enter the stadium with counterfeit tickets (unknowingly to them), and were harshly repressed by the Paris police, using tear gas, leading to 283 injuries and 68 arrests.

"What I did not appreciate that evening was that the real problem was not coming from English supporters, but from delinquents who were robbing fans", said Darmanin in an interview on YouTube channel Legend, who described the incident as the biggest failure of his career. "The scapegoat was easy to find, and I apologise now to Liverpool supporters. They were quite right to be hurt. It was a mistake and a failure."

The French official response from the day was that Liverpool fans had tried to enter the stadium with fake tickets, but it was later found that those fans had been tricked into buying falsifications. "We were expecting a war of hooligans, and what we got instead was muggers." "What I did not appreciate that evening was that the real problem was not coming from English supporters, but from delinquents who were robbing fans", he also said.

It was "remarkable" that no one died that night, said an independent report of the incident.