Liverpool supporters were on the receiving end of the contemptuous and antiquated views of local authorities
in the hours before the game and late into last Saturday night in the surroundings of the Stade de France originate in the twisted relationship that France as a country has with football fans – one of contempt, fascination, and, ultimately, fear.
France is the only country in Europe that imposes no less than three different types of stadium bans: judicial, administrative and club-issued. We are also one of the few countries to impose serious limitations on the freedom of movement of supporters, who are regularly barred from travelling within our own country.
It is somewhat puzzling, then, that a country that bans Mulhouse fans from travelling to Grenoble bids to host international football events at all. And this puzzle unfolded in front of our eyes last Saturday in Saint-Denis. Second, Liverpool fans have largely been treated in the same way as French fans. There was no special treatment here, no extraordinary circumstances for the final; they have been perceived as a threat just like for any other game played in France. And perhaps even worse, because public authorities based their risk assessment and preparation on antiquated representations of English football fans from 40 years ago.