This is only one testimony among many others, but coming from a specialist in bare-knuckle fighting in a cage, it resonates all the more. Interviewed by RMC Sport on the events at the Stade de France on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Champions League final, MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett, from Liverpool and fan of the Reds, gave a chilling testimony of his Lyon evening.
“At least, in a cage, it’s one-on-one…, blows the rising star of the UFC to our colleagues. When we left the stadium, there were groups of thirty people running around. Big packs. Some of them had weapons, machetes, knives, iron bars, bats… You just had to try to escape from this place. People were put on the ground, their watches and their belongings were stolen. »
American Nightmare in Saint-Denis
“There were people running around with machetes!, he continues, stunned. I’ve been repeating it for a few days: the only thing I can compare this to is the movie American Nightmare. Have you seen this movie ? The one where you have the right to do everything for twelve hours. It looked like this. It was my impression. There were no more laws, you could do whatever you wanted. »
In addition to the gangs who came to rob and attack the supporters of both camps, Paddy Pimblett did not spare the French police either. “The police were throwing tear gas at everyone. In the small sections that we had to cross to get to the stadium, they pinned and crushed thousands of people between certain intervals. And when we asked the police what was going on, they laughed in our face. Like I said, I’ve never been more afraid for my safety and the safety of the people around me than when I walked out of that stadium on Saturday night. »
Gérald Darmanin “disgusting and despicable”, according to Pimblett
He claims in particular to have seen the police knowingly ignore the attack on a bus of English supporters by “about fifty men” who came to fight. “When the police arrived, he says, instead of coming to the place where it was happening to stop it all, they continued their way along the road passing by as if nothing was wrong. ‘was. Finally, the MMA fighter, who assures that he will never set foot in the Stade de France again in his life, castigates the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin after his remarks on the primary responsibility of Liverpool fans.
“What lies! A total and enormous lie, he denounces. This man should resign from his position because he is disgusting and despicable. It’s so easy to use Liverpool fans as scapegoats… (…) The statements that I have seen in the last few days in the mouths of French politicians are just disgusting. They weren’t there! (…) I was there, I know what happened, I was stuck in this melee and in these horror scenes, unlike them. I don’t care what anybody says, that politician on stage that just talks shit… That’s what these people do. They lie. »