France’s Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has apologised to Liverpool fans, three years after wrongly blaming them for the chaotic scenes before the 2022 Champions League final at Stade de France.

At the time, Darmanin was the Interior Minister and maintained that up to 40,000 Liverpool fans, some with forged tickets, were responsible for the disorder. However, only 2,471 counterfeit tickets were identified. Darmanin now admits he made a mistake by giving in to preconceived ideas and failing to verify the situation. “Yes, it was a failure. Because I hadn’t checked what was happening properly, which was my mistake, and because I gave in to preconceived ideas,” he said. “The culprit was easy (to designate), and I apologize to Liverpool fans. Of course they were right to (feel upset).”

The match, delayed by over 30 minutes, saw police indiscriminately use tear gas and pepper spray against thousands of Liverpool supporters. Darmanin revealed he wasn’t informed of the unfolding chaos when he arrived at the stadium and only saw the situation through surveillance footage 15 minutes later. “On the video surveillance images we see a red crowd of Liverpool supporters… The initial analysis we make is ‘they’re causing mayhem.’”

French senators later placed the blame on police and officials, citing security failures before, during, and after the game. Darmanin also acknowledged that the security measures in place were inadequate, saying, “Our security system wasn’t designed for that at all.”

An investigation found UEFA mostly responsible for the failures, and UEFA later reached a confidential settlement to compensate Liverpool fans without admitting liability.