Liverpool fans hesitant to travel to Paris after the 2022 Champions League incidents

On Wednesday, one of the headline Champions League round of 16 games will take place between Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool. Both teams are league leaders in their respective countries by a large margin, and while Liverpool is the clear favourite for the title and has repeatedly been described as "the most in shape team in Europe", PSG comes riding a wave of winning and thrashing rivals - including a 10-0 against Brest in the knockout play-off.

It will be a hugely exciting match to watch... to watch from TV. While tens of thousands of PSG will flock into Parc des Princes tomorrow, a lot of Liverpool fans have decided to stay at home, reminiscing what happened three years ago.

On May 28, 2022, the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid was played at the Stade de France in Paris. However, many Liverpool supporters weren't able to enter the stadium: chaos unfolded when thousands of people tried to enter the stadium illegally with counterfeit tickets - according to the official reports - and police used tear gas and pepper spray over the fans. This resulted in 283 injuries and 68 arrests, and Liverpool fans, beyond the frustration of being unable to enter due to problems regarding the tickets, suffered scenes of chaos, with some supporters suffering sexual assaults, and a harsh police response, that brought in memories from the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, a human stampede that killed 97 people.

An independent report said that it was "remarkable" that no one was killed that night, and found UEFA had primary responsibility for all safety failures.

"The lack of accountability makes people think it could happen again"

RMC Sport has interviewed a series of Liverpool fans, and there is still apprehension and distrust with UEFA and French law enforcers, accused of safety and organisational failures. "I love Paris, it's a great city, the people are nice, but I would be very sceptical about going back after what happened", said a supporter named Josh.

John Gibbons, from the Liverpool fansite The Anfield Wrap, told AFP that it's still "too soon for a lot of people", explaining that one part if the "psychological thing of not wanting to go back to somewhere where you have a bad experience", but also the feeling that not enough responsibility was taken by the French government. "The lack of accountability makes people think there is nothing to stop it happening again".

Reds directed their anger towards UEFA but also French rules, including the Ministers of Interior and Sports at the time, Gérald Darmanin and Amélie Oudéa-Castera, caricatured with long, lying noses in Anfield. Three years later, the general feeling among Liverpool fans is that the city of Paris and Parisians are not to blame, but the police and organisations... but still many people will have a hard time forgetting, and some might never return to Paris.