France introduces online criminal complaint system for Champions League ticket holders

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - The French embassies in the UK and Spain initiated an online complaint system on Tuesday allowing Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters to lodge complaints on the incidents that occurred during the Champions League final last month.

"Foreign nationals who were victims of crime during the Champions League Final on May 28 and 29 can file a complaint to the French judicial authorities," the embassies announced on the arrangements that allowed supporters to get in direct contact with the French courts.

Victims can fill out a form available on the embassies' websites and send it to the Bobigny judicial tribunal, which will examine the complaints and carry proceedings, the website said.

The final kickoff was deferred for more than 30 minutes because of late-arriving fans on Saturday night.

Thousands of British and Spanish supporters were stuck in queues outside the Stade de France as security teams were buckling under the pressure to handle the ticketless crowd.

The metal gates were jammed due to fake tickets, and several supporters broke through the security cordons to enter the stadium, spurring police to fire tear gas.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera confirmed that an excess crowd of 30,000-40,000 fans came to the stadium with fake tickets or without tickets.

Many spectators were seriously jostled and overpowered by the police or robbed. The online complaint system will allow such victims to seek legal recourse.

France also plans to send a team of police officers to Liverpool and Madrid to undertake complaints from supporters wanting to take legal action after these incidents, French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday.