The kick-off of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, originally scheduled for 9 p.m., was given 36 minutes late due to delays in accessing the Stade de France fans, a- we learned from UEFA.
Tear gas, intrusion attempts by climbing barriers, crowds gathered and impatient… The atmosphere did not rise as hoped, during the hours preceding the most important match of the season.
Thousands of fans without tickets
After 9:00 p.m., the time initially planned for kick-off, an AFP journalist noted various intrusions at the level of the stadium forecourt, at least twenty young people having managed to pass. Earlier, others tried to force a first filtering barrage of police. Tear gas was fired to prevent a few dozen young people from climbing barriers, AFP noted.
“Do not force entry to the Stade de France”, warned on Twitter in French, English and Spanish the Paris police headquarters, which had deployed 6,800 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters to ensure the security of the match, with an eye on the thousands of “Reds” fans who came without tickets.
Complete fan zones
Faced with the wait, the Liverpool players returned from the locker room and resumed their warm-up on the lawn at 9:07 p.m. Their Madrid opponents followed them a few minutes later. After about ten minutes on the pitch, in a surreal atmosphere, they returned to the locker room.
This setback spoils the beautiful party started during the day in Paris and Saint-Denis, in the fan zones of the two teams. Nearly 30,000 fans of the “Reds” notably painted the course of Vincennes, in the French capital, red in a good-natured atmosphere.