PARIS— A
senior UEFA representative said on Tuesday he did not believe
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s claims about the number of fake tickets in
circulation during the chaotic scenes before last month’s Champions League
final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
اضافة اعلان
Following the game
on May 28, Darmanin claimed that between 30,000 and 40,000 fake tickets in the
hands of Liverpool fans were the cause of problems as police funneled thousands
of fans into overcrowded underpasses around the stadium, leading to the
kick-off being delayed by more than 30 minutes.
Martin Kallen,
general director of
UEFA Events, who is in charge of the body’s commercial
events, told a hearing at the French Senate, which is investigating the
incidents, the figure was much lower.
“We know there were
around 2,600 tickets taken to the turnstiles which were fake,” Kellen said.
“But a lot of
tickets didn’t get to the turnstiles... How many? We don’t know, we can’t
really verify.
“We don’t believe
it’s the number mentioned in France, which was more or less 30,000 to 40,000,”
he added.
Keller said other
factors caused the problems at the Stade de France, in mayhem that saw the
French police use tear gas at close range, even against children.
“It wasn’t only the
paper tickets that created chaos in front of the gates,” he said.
“The reasons are
numerous: a transport strike, poor reaction from stewards, police, there were
delinquents and an extremely big flux of people in front of the stadium without
a ticket or with fake tickets,” he added.
Liverpool and
Real Madrid supporters are due to give evidence to the Senate later in the day.
UEFA have launched
its own probe, overseen by a former Portuguese education and sports minister,
which Kellen said would present its conclusions in September.
“We thought the
investigation would take a minimum of two to three months,” Kallen said.
“As it’s starting
now, we could say sometime in September (for the results),” he added.
Real Madrid won the final 1–0 to become European champions
for the 14th time.
Read more Sports
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
