LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s return to Paris for the first time since the 2022 Champions League final comes too soon for many supporters still scarred by the traumatic events that marred European football’s showpiece event.
The Premier League leaders take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of what should be a mouthwatering last 16 tie on Wednesday.
However, only 2,000 Liverpool fans are expected at the Parc des Princes, with many deciding against a return to the French capital after the treatment they suffered at the hands of the Parisian authorities just under three years ago.
“It’s too soon for a lot of people,” John Gibbons of Liverpool fan website The Anfield Wrap told AFP.
Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a 37-minute delay to kick-off as fans struggled to access the stadium after being funnelled into overcrowded bottlenecks as they approached the stadium.
Police fired tear gas toward thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium.
As if events on the night of May 28 were not painful enough, Liverpool fans had to suffer a series of false claims in the aftermath of the chaos.
European football’s governing body UEFA initially tried to pin the blame on supporters arriving late despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off.
The French authorities then claimed an “industrial-scale fraud” of fake tickets was the problem.
A French Senate enquiry later concluded that poorly-executed security arrangements were the cause of the mayhem.
An independent report found UEFA bore “primary responsibility” for the failures which almost led to the match becoming a “mass fatality catastrophe.”
The report added it was “remarkable” that no one was killed on the night of the final.
But for many Liverpool fans the scenes brought back memories of a crush at Hillsborough Stadium in 1989 that resulted in the deaths of 97 supporters.
As a result, Gibbons said many fans were reluctant to return to the French capital.
“There is the psychological thing of not wanting to go back to somewhere where you have a bad experience but also the lack of accountability makes people think there is nothing to stop it happening again,” he said.
“It wasn’t left on the day. Lots happened afterwards. Most notably the government not taking much responsibility for what happened.”
The shocking scenes at the time sparked concerns over Paris’ suitability to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup and last year’s Olympics.
Those events passed off peacefully, but there remains resentment at the double standards often faced by football fans.
Liverpool fan and journalist Daniel Austin said: “Thankfully, the Olympics went off largely without incident, and that’s great. But I think it was quite clear that people were treated differently for that, because it was the biggest event in the world.”
Austin is one of those who is making the voyage to Paris, adding it would be admitting “defeat” to the lies spread in the aftermath of the 2022 final not to go.
He understands why there are others who will not put themselves at the mercy of the French police again.
“It wasn’t just the fact that they went through something that was really physically and mentally difficult, it was the fact that they were then lied about in what was quite a concerted campaign by the authorities for weeks and months,” he added.
“I’ve heard of people who are saying that because of all of that they’re not going to go.
“They don’t want to come across those same authorities again. They don’t trust the people who were responsible for that, a lot of whom remain in exactly the same positions, to look after them as visitors this time.”
