Postcard from Paris – Pepper spray, roof top fireworks and regrets fill the air

Camila Cabello performs during the Champions League Opening Ceremony prior to the delayed kick off of the Champions League final

Camila Cabello performs during the Champions League Opening Ceremony prior to the delayed kick off of the Champions League final Credit: Macdara Ferris (ETPhotos)

Macdara Ferris reports from the Stade de France

The biggest game in world football is how Liverpool’s Andy Robertson correctly called the Champions League final when he spoke in the Stade de France on the eve of the game. 

Based on what we saw on the pitch – with Liverpool’s 23 goal attempts to ultimate match winner Real Madrid’s one – there will be huge disappointment for Reds players and supporters that they failed to win this final.

For Liverpool fans caught up in the chaotic scenes outside the stadium prior to kick-off, there is more than disappointment but justifiable anger at their treatment ahead of the match. No football fan wants to have to deal with such a situation when they go to watch their team play.

Having spent large sums of money to travel to the game and purchase tickets, and despite turning up at the stadium hours ahead of the 9pm kick off time, they faced massive problems trying to get into the venue.

By funnelling the fans through a tiny pinch point close to the Liverpool end of the ground, it resulted in a traumatic experience for many getting into the ground – and indeed some supporters never made the match.

The game had been switched in the spring from St. Petersburg to Paris due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and UEFA and the French authorities had plenty of time to get things right and yet it seems they failed in the spectator management of this final.

My flight out on Friday morning to France thankfully had none of the crowd congestion the blighted Dublin Airport this weekend.

The punters on the plane to Paris were a mixture of Liverpool and Leinster fans, families going to Disneyland and former Republic of Ireland managers (well there was only one of them with Brian Kerr sitting in front of me).

Later that day I travelled out to Stade de France to hear from both managers and a couple of players from both teams ahead of their separate training sessions on the pitch.



Writing up the press conference report and my match preview afterwards, I sat up in the pressbox keeping an eye on LOITV on the action happening back home. Out on the pitch they were cutting the pitch – all nearly laid grass from earlier in the week - and thankfully the playing surface wasn’t an issue on match night.

Match night

I’m someone who likes to get into a match early even when the crowds are only the limited size we have in the League of Ireland. 

However with match programmes to be purchased to meet the numerous requests from friends, the draw of fine Parisian cuisine in the media area (well free sandwiches) and the aim of getting a good a seat as possible in the press box, I travelled to St. Denis early enough alighting at the RER train at 5.30pm local time – 3.5 hours ahead of kick off.



The crowds were begining to build as I made my way to the stadium, under the main road and through an area where police vans had been positioned diagonally to funnel supporters, before the meeting first ticket check point at the bottom of a ramp.

This was the area that later on had a huge backlog of supporters with some resorting to scrambling up the ramp wall to avoid the severe congestion at this point.

There were still large swathes of empty seats in the stadium when the teams were warming up less than an hour before kick-off.

A section in the middle of the stadium clearly was for those getting some VIP food and drink behind the stands but in the middle and upper tiers of the Liverpool end the empty grey seats during the player warm ups were very noticeable. 

Gradually we began to see tweets about congestion outside and UEFA announced on the big screen and over the PA that due to the ‘late arrival of fans’ and the resulting congestion it meant the kick off would be delayed.

After the game, they said that fake tickets had also created a build-up of spectators. When the players next came out on to the pitch, it was to carry out a second warm up due to the delay.

Opening ceremony

The players’ warm-up routines and the global TV schedules were put out of kilter by the new kick off time 35 minutes later than the original 9pm one but UEFA had hired Camila Cabello and they were determined she was going to do her pre-game show.

So we had this incongruous situation of her routine taking up further time before we saw some football, with her performance rounded off with pyro on the pitch and fireworks from the roof sending smoke into the air inside the stadium while outside prepper spray was being deployed by the police on spectators who were still trying to get into the ground.

The fans inside were not happy with the delay and sung over her performance which was booed on completion.

On twitter afterwards, Cabello said: ‘“Playing back our performance and I can’t believe people were singing their teams’ anthems so loud during our performance. Like, my team and I worked tireless for so long to bring right vibes and give a good show. Very rude but whatever. I’M GLAD U GUYS LOVED IT!!!!!"

In the match itself, Thibaut Courtois put in a superb performance in goal for Real Madrid with a string of stunning saves. Los Blancos got one chance and they took it through Vinicius.

Jurgen Klopp spoke afterwards about the fine margins involved at this level of the game.

Hoevever it was his opposite number who got his hands on the European Cup after Marcelo first lifted it with more fireworks sent from the Stade de France roof flying into the late night St. Denis skyline as the Brazilian hoisted the trophy into the air ten minutes from midnight.

With the delay and the celebrations afterwards, Ancelotti and Courtois only finished speaking to the assembled media in the press conference at 1.15am but nobody wants to hear my grumbling about getting back into the city centre based on what had happened to some people ahead of the game.

History had been made in the match with Real Madrid claiming their 14th European Cup crown and Carlo Ancelotti’s earning a fourth success in the Champions League as a manager.

It will be a game remembered for those records, his goalkeeper’s performance and the late kick-off, the repercussions of which will begin to emerge in the coming days.

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile