Southport MP Damien Moore slams French handling of Champions League Final

Damien Moore MP has slammed the French authorities for their handling of the Champions League Final. On Friday, Mr. Moore met with constituents who were at the match, and who have spoken with him about their first-hand accounts of their experience and concerns at the events of that day.

The match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, which took place at the Stade de France, saw shocking scenes of violence directed towards fans, both by criminal gangs and the French Police.

The area of Saint-Denis, where the stadium is located, is known to have a significantly higher crime rate than other areas in Paris, and there has been public speculation as to why the French authorities did not allocate sufficient resources to controlling the event. 

Hundreds of injuries have been documented as a result of both the police action and criminal attacks, with large volumes of co-ordinated attacks, muggings, and sexual assaults being documented.

Senior police officers in Paris claimed that between 30,000 to 40,000 fake tickets were used, but investigations have now revealed that the actual number is around 2,589. Attempts to blame Liverpool fans for the chaos have also been made.

Due to the severity of the complaints that Mr. Moore has recently received from those who travelled to the match, he has now made urgent contact with the relevant authorities to demand answers and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable, sending letters to the UK Foreign Secretary, UEFA, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Football, and the International Olympics Committee.

Mr. Moore has also today signed EDM 131, on the Treatment of Liverpool fans at the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris, available to read here.

Damien Moore, MP for Southport, said:

“The scenes we saw at the Stade de France were completely unacceptable. I am furious with those whose responsibility it was to organise the event and ensure the safety of those who, at considerable personal expense, sought to attend.

“I recently met with a number of constituents in Southport who attended the final and were caught up in the chaos, and whose accounts of the day are quite frankly terrifying. It is unacceptable that the French authorities seem to have wanted to lay the blame solely at the feet of innocent Liverpool fans, such as my constituents.

“I have written to the UK Foreign Secretary, UEFA, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Football, and the International Olympics Committee to request that the investigations into these matters experience no delay, and that the full report is made available to the public for scrutiny.”