By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) -France has learned its lessons from the 2022 Champions League soccer final fiasco as the country gears up for the Rugby World Cup kickoff between Les Bleus and New Zealand on Friday, Sports Minister Amelie Oudea Castera said.
The minister said the government would deploy up to 7,000 security personnel across the country as part of measures to ensure safety during the tournament, which ends on Oct. 28.
The World Cup starts with the mouthwatering clash between France and the All Blacks at the Stade de France and the situation around the venue will be heavily monitored well before the 9.15 p.m. kick-off local time (1915 GMT).
“We’ve done a tremendous amount of work to learn the lessons from what happened at the Stade de France (at the Champions League final in 2022),” Oudea Castera told a press conference on Monday.
“We have revised our security policy, working on crime prevention.”
France, which will host the 2024 Olympics in Paris, came in for heavy criticism over the chaos at last year’s Champions League soccer final.
The start was delayed by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match against Real Madrid.
French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, who complained of heavy-handed treatment as they were herded into pens outside the stadium.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA and French authorities at the time blamed fake tickets for causing the issue.
However, television footage showed images of young men, who did not appear to be wearing red Liverpool jerseys, jumping the gates of the stadium and running away. Other people outside, including children, were also tear-gassed by riot police.
A review into the chaos said UEFA was responsible for the events which unfolded including a “large number of near misses that nearly led to disaster”.
UEFA apologised to Liverpool for initially blaming the Merseyside club’s fans for the mayhem following the release of an independent review in February. The review said there was no evidence to support claims of ticket fraud.
Between 5,500 and 7,000 security personnel will be mobilised across the country for the Rugby World Cup, said Oudea Castera, who also promised smooth travel conditions for visiting fans at airports and train stations during the tournament.
“We have recruited 600 agents in airports to make it easier to go though customs and also reinforced the staff in the train stations,” she added.
“It will be an outstanding moment of sport. This Rugby World Cup is set to be exceptional as France organises it alone for the first time.”
France also hosted the Rugby World Cup in 2007 when four matches were played in Wales and two in Scotland.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken Ferris)
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