Paris return ‘too soon’ for Liverpool fans traumatized by 2022 Champions League final
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s return to Paris for the first time since the 2022 Champions League final comes too soon for many supporters still scarred by the traumatic events that marred European football’s showpiece event. The Premier League leaders take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of what should be a mouthwatering last 16 tie on Wednesday. However, only 2,000 Liverpool fans are expected at the Parc des Princes, with many deciding against a return to the French capital after the treatment they suffered at the hands of the Parisian authorities just under three years ago. “It’s too soon for a lot of people,” John Gibbons of Liverpool fan website The Anfield Wrap told AFP. Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a 37-minute delay to kick-off as fans struggled to access the stadium after being funnelled into overcrowded bottlenecks as they approached the stadium. Police fired tear gas toward thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium. As if events on the night of May 28 were not painful enough, Liverpool fans had to suffer a series of false claims in the aftermath of the chaos. European football’s governing body UEFA initially tried to pin the blame on supporters arriving late despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off. The French authorities then claimed an “industrial-scale fraud” of fake tickets was the problem. A French Senate enquiry later concluded that poorly-executed security arrangements were the cause of the mayhem. An independent report found UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the failures which almost led to the match becoming a “mass fatality catastrophe.” The report added it was “remarkable”