Report: Liverpool Fans Still Haunted by Paris 2022 Final Chaos | OneFootball

Chaos and Trauma: Liverpool Fans Still Scarred by Paris 2022

The events of the 2022 Champions League final in Paris remain a dark stain on UEFA’s record. The Athletic’s latest piece detailing the ordeal of Liverpool supporters serves as a reminder of the harrowing experience they endured, and how the scars—both physical and psychological—still linger.

A Disaster Waiting to Happen

Phil Blundell’s account of the day paints a picture of a poorly organised and needlessly dangerous situation. Liverpool fans, following official guidance, travelled via the RER metro system to Saint-Denis, expecting a straightforward journey to the Stade de France. Instead, they found themselves funnelled into an overcrowded underpass, facing police incompetence and organisational failure.

Photo IMAGO

“The signage from the station was vague and people were guessing which way to go,” Blundell recalls. His statement underscores a fundamental lack of direction—something that could have been easily avoided with proper event planning. The local police’s attempt to control the scene by reversing vans into an already congested underpass was a decision that defied logic and exacerbated the chaos.

It wasn’t just the numbers that posed an issue; it was the infrastructure and crowd management that failed. A single checkpoint, processing “about 30 people a minute” according to Blundell, was woefully inadequate. With “easily 10,000 or more in the queue,” the numbers simply didn’t add up.

The Horror Unfolds

As the crowd swell turned into a crush, panic set in. Fans who made it through described feeling overwhelmed, some experiencing panic attacks as the checkpoint became a bottleneck. UEFA and French authorities’ failure to manage the crowd properly led to fans being indiscriminately attacked by riot police and gangs of criminals.

“Families with children were truncheoned and tear gassed,” reads one of the most horrifying lines in the report. Innocent supporters, there to watch their club in one of the biggest nights of the football calendar, were treated like criminals. Others were attacked by locals, suffering injuries that would change their lives forever.

Photo IMAGO

“I found the Gendarmes to be unnecessarily confrontational, lacking in people skills, short of any ability to do anything that wasn’t just haphazard at best and dangerous at worst,” Blundell adds.

UEFA, in a shameful attempt to deflect blame, initially tried to pin the delay of the final on Liverpool fans arriving late—a claim debunked almost immediately by independent reports.

Haunting Parallels with Hillsborough

For many Liverpool fans, this wasn’t just another logistical failure—it was a haunting echo of a past tragedy. Danny Smith, a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster, found himself reliving his worst nightmares in Paris.

Thirty-three years after surviving the crush that unlawfully claimed 97 Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough, Smith was again in mortal danger, this time with his teenage son. Attacked by a gang after leaving the Stade de France, his knee was smashed with a hammer while police stood by and watched. “This is Saint-Denis,” one of his attackers reportedly said, as if that justified the lawlessness.

Smith’s injuries required reconstructive surgery. “I’m about 40 per cent of the person I was,” he says. His story is a tragic reminder that for some, the events of Paris were more than just a bad experience—they were life-altering.

Have Lessons Been Learned?

Liverpool return to Paris tonight for the first time since that dark day, but under vastly different circumstances. The club will face PSG in a last-16 Champions League tie at the Parc des Princes, not the Stade de France. Crucially, the police force handling this event is different, and French authorities have insisted lessons have been learned.

Fan groups have been reassured that security measures will be more effective. The French police held meetings with Liverpool representatives to discuss safety, and there is recognition that what happened in 2022 was an unacceptable failure.

“We received the reassurances we were looking for over crowd control and what plans are in place for the 2,000 fans going over there,” Peter Scarfe, chair of the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, said. While this is a step in the right direction, the scars of 2022 run deep.

Manchester City’s recent visit to the Parc des Princes passed without incident, which gives some hope that Liverpool’s return to Paris will not be marred by chaos. However, there remains a collective distrust among many supporters, some of whom have vowed never to set foot in the French capital again.

Justice for the Victims

Compensation and accountability remain unresolved issues. Thousands of fans suffered trauma, and legal proceedings against UEFA are ongoing. Some Liverpool supporters are still battling physical injuries, while others are grappling with the mental trauma of that night. The Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance has reported five suicides linked to Paris 2022—a shocking statistic that highlights just how deeply the events affected some fans.

UEFA and the French authorities may claim they have learned their lessons, but for those who suffered that night, the damage is irreversible. A Champions League final should be a night of celebration, not a scene of terror. The incompetence and brutality displayed in Paris must never be repeated.

Our View – Anfield Index Analysis

There is still an overwhelming sense of anger and disbelief among Liverpool fans about what happened in Paris. The fact that UEFA tried to shift the blame onto supporters was disgraceful, and the slow pace of justice only adds to the frustration. Many fans feel like they were treated like criminals rather than paying supporters attending a football match.

The parallels to Hillsborough are chilling. That night in 2022 should have been about football, about Liverpool chasing another European crown. Instead, it became another chapter in the long history of football authorities failing to protect the people who make the sport what it is.

The scars of Paris run deep, and some will never heal. Smith’s harrowing story is a stark reminder of the long-term consequences of such failures. The football world must continue to demand justice for those affected, and UEFA must be held accountable. Anything less would be a disgrace to the game.