At last, we now know the truth about what really happened in the Champions League final, where Liverpool fans, without any proof whatsoever, were blamed by the media, pundits and unfortunately, some ill-informed Arsenal fans for the absolute chaos that occurred before and after the final.
Liverpool supporters were charged by riot police with batons while tear gas was used as they were subjected to brutal attacks from the French police.
The authorities have now issued a full and thorough apology, stating that it was their fault that the unsavoury scenes were due to their poor planning and that the subsequent statements claiming Liverpool fans were to blame were entirely false and had no factual evidence to support them.
As football fans, we have been treated with scant respect since the 1980s, and some forty years later, the lies are still being repeated by the media and the establishment. Of course, we all know that there were hooligan elements in the English league, and UEFA took the appropriate action back then by banning all English clubs from any European competitions. We served our punishment and rightly so, but it seems too many fans, pundits and institutions are keen to keep pushing the false narrative about English fans and Liverpool in particular.
Let us hope we see a full apology from UEFA, along with our media and those fans who jumped on the bandwagon without any proof whatsoever.
Well done and thanks to the French authorities for admitting their mistakes openly and clearing the name of Liverpool fans, as reported by the source – do I believe we will see anyone apologise for being so very wrong?
Let us wait and see, and meanwhile, just think it could be our fans this Wednesday who might be in the same situation; now there is food for thought.
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I’ve just read that the referee appointed for the game tomorrow, faced corruption charges in 2005 and the head of FIFA and EUFA will be at the game , following the match referees display at The Emirates.
Pressure?
The English have had a poor record of behaviour in away European fixtures and this kind of thing sticks unfortunately
The Liverpool supporters of all ages were treated poorly and an apology now is just about better late than never but can’t repair what should have been a fantastic experience for the travelling fans.
As for what awaits the Arsenal fans tomorrow, I hope it’s properly managed by the authorities inside and outside the stadium. And we win.
I’m waiting to see if Dan reacts to this article SueP.
There cannot be any doubt that his article condemning the Liverpool fans was wrong, unwarranted and needs an apology.
Same Mkhitaryan that the WOB declared deadwood is starting in a UCL semifinal 6 years after Arsenal released him on a free transfer. Another is Kolašinac, who won the Europa last year and starts for Atlanta who are challenging for the league in Serie A. Both, Özil, Aubameyang, etc, all big players released for free, were the type of players Wenger used to transfer and still make millions, like he did with Giroud and Walcott. One day the truth will be told about the financial mismanagement of Arsenal player assets post-Wenger.
He’s on a cruise unique hat trick
Europa , Conference now CL
*you have
Seems that way HD.
One of the biggest things to admit is that one got something wrong and Dan seems incapable of doing so.
Ah well!! I’m just pleased that I asked him to wait for the official response before condemning fellow football fans – the fact that he didn’t and can’t bring himself to say he got it completely wrong, is his problem not mine.
Perhaps maturity comes with age?!
Off–Topic
The Inter vs Barcelona match is amazing. 3-3 at FT again (6-6 on aggregate). I wonder if this will be settled in Extra Time or penalties lol
As an outsider watching, it’s a fun match
It’s incredible Steph
Inter looked so tired and couldn’t get ball back
Where did that equaliser come from ?
Can we even win any of Barca or Inter IF we manage to get pass PSG.
What a classic epic semi final match between Inter and Barca now.
The winner of this match has a good shout for the cup.
Well the thing is there are weaknesses in both
I would rather face Inter though
Dumfries though in these two legs – one of best full back performances I have seen
At this stage, nothing is easy. I would say we have a better chance against Inter than Barcelona. The stage is already set for us, it is up to us to get what we want, go Arsenal.
@Dan
I think our defence could have handled Barcas attack. On the other side. I don’t think our attack is prolific enough to get past Inters defence. Just my opinion.
See I see the opposite mate
Barca concede chances because how high they press but have the attack on their day to kill us
Inter at least we would always be in the game
PSG though we have to play to a level we rarely seen this season
@Dan
It’s sort of where I was going. I just said it in a round about way. I had no fear of Barcas attack, thanks to our solid defence. And even our misfiring attack could pop in a goal or two against. On the other hand Inters defence is too drilled for our struggling attack. Not saying they can’t be got at. Just more difficult than Barcas.
Derek and Dan, you just don’t want to let it lie. Do you want another thread closed early by the Admin ?
I contributed to this site for over a decade
Trust me they are not going to get rid of me because you dont like the word mate
Your personal problem with mate / friend is your issue and should not be put on others
Let’s just stick to the football and keep our fingers crossed for tonight mate
A friend might be there when you need help. A mate will definitely be there.
We obviously come from a different generation.
Despite seemingly apologizing for the falsehood perpetrated, Darmanin couldn’t help but repeat the lie that counterfeit tickets and police assaults had contributed.
The then minister of Sport now Justice Minister said prosecuting the culprits was easy, but he still falls short of a full apology.
It seems some would rather talk about other things then face up to the reality that they were completely wrong and aren’t big enough to apologise Gunsmoke.
One of these days he’ll surprise you and commit to a full apology Ken.😉
Maybe Jax just maybe.
Actually I don’t want him to apologise to me, it’s the football fans in general that he needs to say sorry to.
Gunsmoke, I would say that Liverpool fans do indeed have a history of turning up with forged tickets. One time they did it was at the Emirates in the quarter final of the CL. Iirc the also did it for the final in Athens.
Do you think those fans knew they were forged before they bought them?
My friend and I bought tickets off a tout outside the Rainbow theatre expecting to see Deep Purple, only to find out they were forged when we got to the turnstile. That was our Saturday job money well and truly down the toilet
SueP, I doubt they knew those tickets were forged. On our drive home after the game there was a lot of their fans on the radio moaning that they missed the start of the game because of the forged tickets issue. One of them even had the audacity to blame our club for the issue.
Nowadays our supporters have to take their passports to the ground to pick up their tickets. Today in Paris, our supporters will be given a red and white scarf when they pick up their tickets. Imho, that could be dangerous, as they will targets for the PSG hooligans.
Sorry to hear about what happened to you and your friend.
SueP,
I think it to be a gamble to buy said tickets off touts to be honest.
I did it twice in my younger days. The first time was with my late Father, it was an FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest, we waited until just before kick-off thinking that the touts would drop their prices, to our surprise at the time they just went inside and wouldn’t sell the tickets. They just waisted them, rather than get anything for them. The game finished 0-0 by the way. And we lost the replay, I can’t remember the score. But we got knocked out of the FA Cup. No change there then. 🤣😂
The second time I went on my own and I brought a ticket for an FA Cup tie v West Ham. The tout see I was a bit dubious about buying from him even though he had a club tie on. So he took me to the turnstile and saw me in and speaking to the man at the turnstile convinced me that he was genuine.
Now your not going to believe this, but we lost that FA Cup as well. 🤣😂 You can’t make this stuff up. A certain Leroy Rosenior scored the winner.
But as I said earlier, you do gamble by buying tickets form touts.
Just a side story regarding touts, I would go down to the marble halls and get some tickets from the ticket office on occasion. And when standing in the cue, you would get touts saddle up to you and ask you how many tickets are you getting. Having received my answer they would then ask me to get them some and offer me the money to get them. But with my earlier experience with my late Father v Nottingham Forest, they would always get short shrift from me. 😉👍
Sorry I went on a bit there didn’t I, OOPS🙄
Shame you missed that show Sue. It was a great music venue. I saw Otis Redding there in ’67 while it was still the Astoria.
2 school friends and I went to the Rainbow when The Who opened the venue for 3 nights. I’ve seen them since, but I’ll never forget that gig, watching Roger Daltrey swinging the mike about, open chested in a faded denim jacket. Back to the present, it looks to be a religious centre.
Otis Redding..I bet that was amazing
Moving swiftly on, I hope we put up a good show in Paris tonight. The game last night was unbelievable. Both sides seemed down and out at various times, but the finale was incredible.
While I don’t expect our fans to be respected by the French I doubt that there will be the chaos of that final in Paris as our supporters are limited to 3000 or less due to Uefa match regulations.
I’m going to apologise Ken, as I agreed with him in that article that he wrote. I was going on how we were treated by the French Dibble in Paris in 1995 for the final of the CWC.
There you go Dan, it doesn’t take much to apologise – well done HD.
No problems Ken, I always apologise when I’m wrong.
Lijdwise my friend, likewise.
As a bit of fun speculation, it would be interesting to exchange managers with Inter for say, a three week five game stretch. We give them Arteta and take Inzaghi. . I wonder what changes in tactics and player performances we would see?
I’m afraid in some of these European country’s, the Police seem to have a good beating first and ask questions later attitude.
And unfortunately the innocent bystanders are caught up in situations through no fault of their own.
We’ve seen it time after time over the years sadly. What is they say, Mud sticks.
What might be an issue for our travelling fans is the muggers & PSG Ultras mob who might attack them before arrival at the stadium as happened to the Liverpool fans back then.
Stay safe people.
Jax, Villa fans were attacked out there the night before their game
Doesn’t sound good does it HD?
No, it doesn’t Jax. What might make it easier for the PSG firm to spot our supporters is the red and white scarfs the club are give them when they pick up their tickets today.
OT. If it’s true about the tifo that PSG fans have for tonight’s game, the our players shouldn’t need any motivation to win. Calling us bottle jobs and saying Saka is a Temu Antony.
Jax, regarding my second paragraph about the tifo, it would seem that it’s false.
They seem more worried about this game than Arsenal are.
What could be an issue for our travelling fans is the muggers & PSG Ultras mob who might attack them before arrival at the stadium as happened to the Liverpool fans back then.
Stay safe people.
Whoops!!
In whichever country the police do what they do. Have friends who have given themselves to the force. Dedicated nut jobs. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.
Fingers crossed there’s no trouble everyone.
If there is, should we wait for the full report, or condemn one set of fans without any proof?
What do you think Dan, twist or stick?
I have binned several comments from some of you, and it has annoyed me.
Yesterday I closed a thread because it had got away from football and Arsenal and degenerated into bickering and insults.
So, what do some of you do? You hijack another article and carry on with the arguing.
STOP NOW – STOP RUINING THREADS WITH POINTLESS ARGUMENTS. DO NOT FORCE ME TO TAKE ACTION TO STOP EVERY BLOODY ARTICLE BEING RUINED AND SPOILING IT FOR THOSE THAT DO NOT COME HERE FOR ARGUMENTS.