Saint-Denis convention undermined by chaos at Champions League final

The European Championship quarter-final between Iceland and France was not the only notable event held at the Stade de France on 3 July 2016. The Council of Europe also staged an opening ceremony that day for signatories to a new convention designed to provide “a safe, secure and welcoming environment at football matches and other sports events”.

France was one of the member states who signed up and the legally binding international treaty took its name from the location of the ceremony. The Saint-Denis convention was born. The irony of France’s public commitment and the convention’s name will not be lost on anyone affected by the chaos outside the Stade de France before, during and after Saturday’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Liverpool fans were forced into bottlenecks by French police on their approach to the stadium and teargassed while trapped outside closed turnstiles. Many were attacked and robbed by locals on the streets of Saint-Denis when leaving France’s national stadium after the game.

By then, attempts to deflect blame from the shambolic organisation and police violence were under way, with Uefa attributing the delayed kick-off to the “late arrival of fans” before changing tact to counterfeit tickets. French government ministers have maintained that line ever since, along with the claim that, based on rail user figures, an extra 30,000-40,000 Liverpool fans descended on the stadium either without tickets or with fakes.

The realities of last Saturday are a long way from the obligations enshrined in the Saint-Denis convention. France was among 14 Council of Europe member states who signed the convention at its launch in 2016. The total is now 23 states who have signed and ratified