(Reuters) -France's former interior minister Gerald Darmanin has apologised to Liverpool fans for wrongly blaming them for the chaos at the Stade de France during the 2022 Champions League final in Paris.
Darmanin, now serving as the justice minister, admitted that security arrangements for the final between Liverpool and Real Madrid were inadequate, and that his previous public remarks blaming English fans were a mistake in reports carried by British media on Monday.
Fans were caught in dangerous crowd congestion outside the Stade de France before the match, which was delayed for over 30 minutes. French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, who complained of heavy-handed treatment as they were herded into pens outside the stadium.
Darmanin held a joint press conference with other French ministers two days after the match, and blamed the disorder on "English fans" and their possession of fake tickets.
He has now retracted his comments and called the night "the biggest failure" of his career in an interview on the French Legend show on YouTube.
"What I did not appreciate that evening was that the real problem was not coming from English supporters, but from delinquents who were robbing fans," he said.
"Because I hadn't checked what was happening properly, which was my mistake, and because I gave in to preconceived ideas... the culprit was easy (to designate), and I apologise to Liverpool fans. Of course they were right to (feel upset)."
In March, European soccer governing body UEFA lost its bid to throw out lawsuits brought by hundreds of Liverpool fans who attended the Champions League final for personal injuries allegedly caused in the chaos outside the stadium.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
