“We were wildebeest and we had crocodiles waiting”

The Paris final of this 2022 will be remembered for Vinicius’s goal that crowned Real Madrid against Liverpool and gave him the Fourteenth. Also because of Courtois’ saves or Salah’s laments at the chances that escaped him for the second time against the whites, but there will never be a lack of memories of what was experienced outside the stadium that conditioned the match.

Thousands of Liverpool fans experienced a complicated moment in their access to the stadium, where they suffered robbery attempts, as well as a threat of avalanche due to problems with the tickets, of which some said they were false. The situation was really complicated and, luckily, it ended without serious incidents.

Those that occurred are under investigation by UEFA and also from the French government, which pointed to the organization of the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), because of the problem with false entries.

In El Larguero, from Cadena SER, two Real Madrid fans denounced that access was complicated, but even more so was leaving and returning to hotels or vehicles. A situation, they point out, in which few are influencing and that it was even worse, affirm Javier Real and Pedro Alcaína.

“I traveled with a group of friends and we entered the field an hour and a half earlier because there was a lot of commotion with the tickets. It could be seen from outside. We went early so that it cleared up. When we wanted to access the first ring, we saw that the police were inside the stadium, something I haven’t seen anywhere. Among the 500 people who were crowded to enter there was a group of North Africans who were directly getting their hands on our wallets and cell phones. The theme of digital tickets, very nice, but it forces you to have your mobile in your hand. In front of me I find that there is a man with the mobile in his hand and two men from the Maghreb appear who take the phone from him. The man tries to retrieve it and one of them falls and pulls a knife on him. From there we began to see organized people, groups, stealing. We passed thanks to the fact that many Madrid fans let those of us who were with children enter. In the stadium, things normalized. We did not enjoy as we should have enjoyed because we had the lap left”, Javier Real said about access to the stadium.

For him, the lap was even worse as he was lucky enough not to find his car wrecked and to be able to return. “We traveled by car and looked for the reviews. Luckily, we saw that two or three years ago there were comments about the parking lot from people who had found their car wrecked. We left the car in the parking lot of the Basilica, which is two kilometers away. When leaving, it was total lack of control. It was a very long street and they came out of all the streets. I saw a man with a gun and two men with knives forcing a woman to take it from him. Thanks to a police friend, we made a ring attached to a wall to walk quickly without looking back and letting no one get close. We were slapping. I had to slap someone who tried to take my mobile. In the parking lot, there were smashed cars. Among them, one of my friends. I’m not going back to Saint-Denis and even less with the child”. Real also wanted to make a gesture with the Liverpool fans. “I want to send a hug to the Liverpool fans, because they are victims. We were together in the area of ​​the Eiffel Tower and everything was very good”

Pedro Alcaína, another fan who attended the final, recounts a very similar experience and points out that what happened at the stadium march was almost worse than at the entrance. “I was with my daughter. We entered first thing in the morning, but we realized it. At the digital entrances, for those who don’t know it, the QR code is disabled until a steward hands you a device on the first ring. There were people trying to take pictures. At the entrance, not much more than the queue happened, but they are very tiptoeing about what happened at the exit,” he said.

“At the exit we were in the northern zone and many people from Liverpool began to clear from their sector and in the neutral zone. When we left there was a flood of people leaving through a walkway, which forced them to go through there, and ended up in the last security ring that was under a highway. From there it was the feeling of being wildebeest crossing the river with crocodiles waiting. It was a funnel. All the people who came behind pushed you, but in front there were groups of criminals to see who was the scapegoat. As we left I saw a delinquent taking a girl’s bag. The girl was screaming and the police were impassive with a feeling that if they did something it would be worse because they were inferior. I was with a 13-year-old teenager, the eyes with which they looked at her... We ran out of the pepper spray, without being able to see… There were people lying on the ground”, he sentenced about a night of celebration and for history, which was tarnished.

A fan tells how he got into the final

At RMC Sport, a young French fan told how he got into the final and was able to watch the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid for free. At just 17 years old, the Parisian assured that this week he is “the star of his institute.”

“Suddenly, there was a crowd. Some tried to force their way in and I got behind a turnstile. Like when you get lonely on the subway. A steward held me back, but there were so many people coming in that he let go of my hand and I was able to enter the stadium with Liverpool fans running. We managed to enter the area near the stadium. No one paid any attention to us or resisted the bags. Every time we got close, the police would gas the crowd,” he said..

He claimed that he was not the only one who did it. “There were other young people like me and this gives a bad image of us, but they have to put themselves in our place. A Champions League final was played next to our house and that makes anyone dream. Unfortunately, we don’t have the financial means to buy tickets at 3,000 euros,” he said.