Panic in Paris: “They came to steal everything from us and we heard the police shooting”

La Decimocuarta filled the madridistas with happiness, especially those who were able to attend the match at the Stade de France. Nevertheless, the joy for achieving a new trophy for the meringue showcases turned, after the final, into fear and scenes of panic caused by groups of criminals who concentrated on the outskirts of the venue of the final to rob, attack and loot the fans.

The Stade de France is located in the marginal neighborhood of Saint-Denis, a suburb with a majority Muslim community. The shortage of police officers ‘allied’ with the numerous groups of criminals who roamed freely causing panic among Madrid fans. “They came to take everything from us, to rob us, but it was the gendarmes who threw pepper spray and rubber bullets at us. We went down to the Metro and it had already become a mousetrap. If you tried to go out to look for a taxi, they asked you for 300 euros to get you out of there,” Enrique Cazorla, a member of Real Madrid since 1987, a veteran of five other finals, told El Mundo. “We started running and we heard the police shots. We took our six-year-old boy in our arms and covered his face so he wouldn’t see that horror,” he adds.

Another victim of the Saint-Denis criminals was Luis Francisco Abañades, who also told El Mundo about his unfortunate experience: “They went to sack, pushing everyone who got in the way. I saw one who had taken a policeman’s gun and ran away with it. Seeing the danger, we took some broken bottles from the ground to try to defend ourselves, although we didn’t have to use them”. Along the same lines, Marcos Bernabéu, from Peña Capote y Montera, stated: “They came in groups of four and shouted ‘Hala, Madrid’ before surrounding you. In search of your mobile, your wallet or your backpack. Some would go out on the run with the money in their socks”.