Nothing is ever too big for a fake news story, especially in times of war. Monday, on the occasion of Ukraine’s first Euro 2024 match against Romania, Romanian supporters reportedly used the name of Vladimir Putin in chorus to provoke their opponents.
A video taken during the match, in which Romanians can be heard shouting “Putin, Putin”, was broadcast on social networks and – obviously – massively relayed in the hours that followed. Except that the soundtrack attached to the images presents all the signs of good editing.
UEFA affirmative
TF1 And France 24 have noted them, and there are many of them. Already, we can see in the video images projected on the giant screens of the Munich stadium showing that a goal has just been scored. The jubilation that follows is rarely the right moment to launch a well-coordinated chant with the whole platform, but in a pinch, OK.
On the other hand, the fact that we never see a Romanian pronounce the name of the Russian president from the front, and that absolutely no other image of this sequence has been posted online, are tangible elements to flush out the montage.
The Romanian federation contests
Just like the fact that no Ukrainian player was outraged after the match, and that UEFA neither communicated nor launched an investigation on the subject – even though it did so for a drone story which would have flown over the Swiss training camp on Tuesday (see our live broadcast of the day on Wednesday).
Contacted by TF1info, the Romanian federation “disputes the authenticity of the video”, while UEFA responded to France 24 that the video was a “fake”, highlighting a sound montage. The body certifies that none of its officials present in the stadium heard pro-Putin chants.
“I have not heard such songs”
A version confirmed to TF1 by a Romanian supporter. “I have not heard such chants, neither inside the stadium nor outside,” he assures, giving two important details: “The voice of the Romanians has Latin accents, while in this video, we identify more Slavic or Germanic accents, and there were no drums in the Romanian stand of the stadium.”
Last argument in favor of the montage, the Ukrainian organization for the fight against disinformation Stratcom itself indicates that this video is “fake”.