The international press puzzled by the maintenance of order at the Stade de France

SPORTS – “Farce Stadium”. The play on words from the English tabloid “The Sun” says a lot about the vision of our European neighbors about the catastrophic evening that took place at the Stade de France on the night of Saturday, May 28 during the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

The German media are also wondering about UEFA’s organizational failures. “The afternoon of chaos”, writes the most widely read newspaper in the country, Bild. “A pity: the final started half an hour late due to the chaos at the entrance to the stadium,” the Catalan newspaper Sport finally posted on its front page on Sunday.

British Labor MP Ian Byrne said on Twitter that he had “one of the worst experiences of his life”. Present at the scene, the left-wing deputy denounces “horrible security” and an “organization that has put lives in danger.”

In his article, Sun publishes the testimony of Marvin Matip, brother of Reds defender Joel Matip, who said he had to take refuge in a restaurant with his pregnant wife to escape tear gas that was poured in his direction.

The Telegraph publishes the damning account of Jason Burt, the head of the newspaper’s football section. “I was outside Gate Y when I was caught by tear gas used indiscriminately by French riot police at the Stade de France. I was talking to supporters who had been waiting in silence, some for three hours, when they hit me in the face, stinging my eyes, lips, and tongue. I saw some of us disperse. I couldn’t believe it (…) It was embarrassing, ”he said in a publication.

Several British press correspondents seemed unnerved by current French police techniques, criticized hours earlier by rebel leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Former English sports and international columnist Gary Lineker broadcasts the live broadcast of a colleague from Sky Sports News confirming a “chaotic” evening. “The treatment of spectators who quietly attended a football match was horrendous and unjustified. I have not seen any behavior from the Reds that warranted such a reaction from the police. Just fans who want to watch a game,” he insisted.

In a widely circulated message, the sports journalist from daily mail Dominic King claims that “the French police used pepper spray for no reason. The way these people were treated is a shame, ”he believes, without seeing any reproaches to the English fans, while Gérald Darmanin pointed out his responsibility this Sunday morning, pointing to those who were armed with fake tickets.

The journalist of the American sports channel ESPN, Mark Ogden, posted a video on Twitter showing calm fans stationed behind a barrier at the Stade de France being sprayed with pepper spray. It has been viewed more than eight million times. Proof that this type of scene, to which he has accustomed us, should not be so common.

This Sunday, May 29 at the end of the day, many French Internet users demanded on Twitter the resignation of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, with the #Darmanidemission.

A ministerial meeting will be held on Monday to “identify the dysfunctions” that have occurred around the match, the Sports Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.