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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

'We want truth, justice' - Liverpool fans demand inquiry after Gerald Darmanin Champions League final apology

The heads of two influential Liverpool supporter groups have demanded a full parliamentary inquiry into the "false narratives" set by French interior minister Gerald Darmanin in the wake of the Champions League final.

And the Liverpool Disabled Supporters' Association (LDSA) have written to both World Rugby (WR) and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to outline their concerns over upcoming events scheduled to take place at the Stade de France.

Ted Morris, who is chair of the LDSA, says he wrote to both Bill Beaumont at WR and Lord Sebastian Coe at the IOC to share his worries over the safety of disabled fans at the Rugby World Cup in 2023 and the Olympic Games the following year, which are both slated to take place at the Saint-Denis venue.

READ MORE: 'Hugely significant moment' as French minister finally apologises to Liverpool fans

READ MORE: UEFA chief takes bizarre 'factory workers' swipe at Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool fixtures point made

The concerns come after hundreds of witness testimonies were taken about the treatment of Reds fans at the Stade de France at the Champions League final with Real Madrid last month, when many were attacked by both police and local gangs before and after the 1-0 defeat for Jurgen Klopp's men.

Mr Morris also confirmed he sent correspondence to the secretary of state for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Nadine Dorries, at the start of June, but has yet to receive a response from the UK Government.

Earlier this month Mr Morris stood alongside his Spirit of Shankly (SOS) counterpart, Joe Blott, in the French senate to rubbish claims made by Mr Darmanin after the Champions League final last month when he alleged the problems outside the ground were caused by 40,000 "ticketless fans".

And now, speaking to the ECHO, the LDSA and the SOS have called for independent inquiries at both French parliamentary level and beyond, a plea which comes just days after Mr Darmanin issued a subdued apology over his handling of the fallout on television in Paris.

“Should the Stade de France have been better managed? The answer is yes," he said. “Am I partly responsible? The answer is yes. Of course, I readily apologise towards everyone who suffered from this bad management of the event.”

However, the French politician's backtracking has cut little ice with the Liverpool fans who were directly affected by the tear gassings and muggings outside the venue at European football's annual showpiece event.

"Mr Darmanin, because of the strength of our appearance in the senate, he has sort of apologised, but he still hasn't retracted what he said," Mr Morris told the ECHO. "He needs to do that.

"There's still a lot of work to be done, [the senate appearance] was just dipping our toes in the water to let them know who we are and how [the authorities] have told a lot of untruths.

"The words of Mr Darmanin have totally impacted a lot of people's mental trauma after what was an horrific experience in Paris and he still needs to resign in my opinion. I don't think he can move on from this because in the senate in the Q&A session at the senate, we got a question from the former sports minister who wants to get Mr Didier Lallement (head of Paris policing) and Mr Darmanin back under oath in the French parliament.

"The former sports minister, who was serving under Francois Hollande, Patrick Kanner, was scathing of [Lallement and Darmanin] based on what we said. They took everything we said as the truth because it was based on hundreds of witness testimonies and Joe Blott was like a lawyer, forensically taking apart [Darmanin's claims] bit by bit.

"And then Mr Kanner said that what they would like to do from there, based on what we presented to them, would be to get them Mr Lallement and Mr Darmanin questioned under oath. We totally support a full French parliamentary inquiry.

"All our personal assistants for the wheelchair users had to stand up for four hours because people were in their seats. The wheelchair accessible toilets never had lights in and they were telling people to use the torches on their phones - how does a wheelchair user do that? It was ill-equipped, they were ill-prepared.

"In this instance, it was only the exemplary behaviour of the supporters, under the most extreme provocation, that averted a fatality in my honest opinion. And I don't use those words lightly at all."

Mr Blott of Spirit of Shankly added: "Clearly [the senate meeting] has made them feel that they want Darmanin back in that room. He has realised that he is going to be summoned back into the senate as a minimum and that is why he has started with his apology. But it's an apology without any responsibility or accountability.

"The reality is we want truth, justice, sincerity and accountability. That will only come with a parliamentary inquiry in France, that is where the key to this lies now. Hopefully there is also an independent UEFA inquiry, but we also need to work with that to make sure it is independent.

"In terms of the French side of things, the parliamentary inquiry is needed because that is where truth can be spoken. Because we've seen so far there is a lot of truth from football fans but not a lot from the police, the French authorities or UEFA. At least ours has been evidence-based."

Mr Blott also called on Mrs Dorries to speak directly to her French counterpart, adding: "I think there is some fantastic backing from us, particularly from Ian Byrne (MP for West Derby), who has written letters to both Nadine Dorries and the French sports minister, Amilie Oudea-Castera.

"They are on public record, but lots of British citizens went over to Paris and were treated badly, so to get support from the French government is great but actually our government has to do more as well because that is where the political sway can take place.

"So based on the good work Ian Bryne has done, Nadine Dorries needs to take this up with her counterpart in France and push for a parliamentary inquiry. The power lies in the politicians now. Quite clearly Nadine Dorries should be doing this for British citizens, that is the starting point.

"There's a sense of feeling that had that situation happened at a pop concert, they would have taken it far more seriously than they have with football fans. Sadly, again, football is the back page news and not the front page and it's not just about football, it's about how people have been treated."

We have contacted the DCMS for comment.

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