The French Interior Minister apologizes for the “mismanagement” of the ‘Champions’ final

LONDON, 28 Jun. (dpa/EP) –

The Minister of the Interior of France, Gerald Darmanin, has apologized to “anyone who suffered from the mismanagement” of the Champions League final that Real Madrid won in Paris on May 28 and that had to delay its start due to incidents in the vicinity of the Stade de France.

Darmanin acknowledged that things were not done as they should when it comes to guaranteeing security in access to the stadium and on this occasion he did not allude to resale as a cause. “Could the Stade de France have been better managed? The answer is yes,” the minister said in an interview on French radio RTL.

“Am I partly responsible? The answer is yes. Of course, I immediately apologize to anyone who suffered from the mismanagement of the event,” Darmanin said.

The disturbances, which affected members of both hobbies and delayed the start of the game for more than half an hour, has caused a “profound change in the organization of the police stations”.


Darmanin explained that the problem was detected when fighting “crime” that occurred at the Stade de France. “I have changed the organization to fight crime because, if there was one thing that was wrong at the Stade de France, it was fighting crime,” he added.

Darmanin had previously apologized to the French Senate for the “disproportionate use of tear gas”, but at the time criticized the large number of people who went to the Stade de France without a ticket or with a fake ticket.