Well-known Liverpool fan Paddy Pimblett has had his say on the violence which marred Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris.
Pimblett, who is 2-0 in the UFC, was in attendance for the game that Stade de France outside of the French capital which was delayed by more than 30 minutes as Liverpool supporters were unable to gain entry to the stadium amid reports of an overly heavy-handed approach to crowd control from French authorities.
There were also numerous reports of violence outside the stadium, with fans of both teams apparently targeted by local thugs — many of whom who were reportedly carrying weapons.
And Pimblett admits that even he was concerned for the safety of both himself and his fellow supporters when he witnessed the violent scenes.
Madrid an Liverpool fans are not to blame for anything on Saturday, these were the scenes as I left the ground. In general fear u wud be attacked by 20 men with weapons luckily enough we stayed in a pack an they didn’t come near us just picked on vulnerable ole men on their own!! https://t.co/imY2zxlqhB
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) May 30, 2022
“First time in a very long time I’ve actually been worried about my own safety & I can look after myself! It’s different when there’s groups of 30 men running around wielding machetes robbing people at knife point and beating up defenceless old men,” he wrote on Twitter.
He also added: “Madrid and Liverpool fans are not to blame for anything on Saturday. These were the scenes as I left the ground. In general fear you would be attacked by 20 men with weapons luckily enough we stayed in a pack and they didn’t come near us, just picked on vulnerable old men on their own.”
Various institutions have called for a full investigation into the incidents, including the UEFA, French authorities and the UK government — who said that that accounts of people caught up in the violence don’t match the official version of events put forth by local officials.
The French ministry for sport had stated that the much of the incidents were caused by ticketless Liverpool supporters, though this has been rubbished by various authorities including Merseyside Police who had members deployed at the event.
