Full confidence in French police for Paris 2024 after Champions League final lessons – CIO

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach speaks at the opening of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Committee meeting, at Olympic House, in Lausanne, Switzerland, September 8, 2022. Laurent Gillieron/Pool via REUTERS

BERLIN, Sept 9 (Reuters) – French security authorities have learned from incidents in this year’s Champions League soccer final and can be fully trusted to protect the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, a the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

The Champions League final – the final match in Europe’s premier club competition – in June at the Stade de France in Paris between Real Madrid and Liverpool was delayed by more than 30 minutes after officers restrained with forces people trying to enter the stadium.

Riot police had also sprayed tear gas at supporters, including women and children, as thousands of fans with tickets to both teams missed the final.

European football’s governing body UEFA later apologized for the fiasco.

Much of the blame was initially placed on Liverpool supporters by French Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin, but authorities later admitted police were caught off guard by several hundred local “delinquents” who presented to cause problems.

The Paris police chief qualified the operation a few days later as a “failure”, both because supporters were harmed and France’s image deteriorated.

“After a number of consultation visits, follow-ups… and other bilateral conversations, I can say that we have full confidence in the French security authorities,” IOC President Thomas Bach said during a meeting. an online press conference.

“They have drawn the right conclusions from the incidents in the Champions League final and they have our full confidence.”

Paris will host the Games in two years, which will begin with an opening ceremony along the Seine through the city center which is expected to attract some 600,000 spectators and is a major security operation in itself.

Paris has been on high alert since a series of jihadist-inspired attacks in which 130 people were killed and hundreds injured on November 13, 2015.

Reporting by Karolos Grohmann Editing by Christian Radnedge

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