The unfortunate events which marred the Champions League final encounter between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Stade de France on May 28 continue to make headlines across Europe, with it now revealed that CCTV footage capturing some of the chaotic scenes outside a historic venue have been destroyed.
A commission at the French Senate, which is investigating goings on ahead of a showpiece event on the outskirts of Paris, have revealed that some video recordings are now unavailable, with authorities dragging their heels when it comes to putting in requests.
French law dictates that video surveillance must be destroyed within seven days unless it becomes the subject of a legal matter, and the country’s football federation had waited more than 12 days before asking questions of those with access to the footage.
Why has CCTV footage from the Champions League final been deleted?
The Senate commission’s co-president, Laurent Lafon, has expressed his surprise at learning that videos of such a high-profile incident – which led to kick-off in a global spectacle being pushed back – have been allowed to disappear.
He has told AFP: “We're surprised. There was plenty of time to request them (the images). We need to understand what happened.”
Lafon added that the fiasco in the French capital appears to have been the result of “an accumulation of dysfunctions” that can be linked to a “lack of preparation” by an arena that was awarded hosting rights after they were stripped from St Petersburg in Russia.
Liverpool major Steve Rotheram has questioned why the FFF allowed the videos to be destroyed, with Senate leader Bruno Retailleau adding that “everything leads to believe that we knowingly let compromising exhibits be destroyed”.
What happens now?
French police claim that some video footage from the evening in question is still available, with 30 days needing to pass before videos from public highways are destroyed.
UEFA continues to investigate as a matter of urgency, with European football’s governing body trying to determine why so many fans were left outside the ground as kick-off approached and whether or not local police forces acted out of turn in choosing to use tear gas on groups that included young children.
Paris police prefect, Didier Lallement, has already begun to backtrack on accusations he made at the time of the incidents in question, with it suggested that up to 40,000 fake tickets had been in circulation – which led to the entrance delays and decisions to close certain gates.
He has said: "It was obviously a failure, because people were pushed around or attacked even though we owed them security.
“I am fully aware that people acting in good faith, even families, were tear-gassed. For this I am very sorry. But there was no other way.”
He added on the ticket claims: “I might have been wrong on the figure of 30,000 to 40,000 thousand I gave to the [interior] minister.
“From an operational standpoint, it doesn't change anything if it was around 40,000 or 30,000 or 20,000.”
Investigations are also being carried out as to why supporters were left exposed to gangs of criminals on their way out of Stade de France, with many claiming to have been robbed at knifepoint.