CCTV Footage Does Exist Of Champions League Final Issues

UEFA's investigation into the horrible scenes outside the Stade de France, ahead of the Champions League final, could be helped by some remaining CCTV footage.

The ugly scenes outside the stadium delayed kick off just over two weeks ago in Paris, and caused all sorts of issues for fans getting inside the ground, and also later as they left.

French authorities and UEFA attempted to blame fans, specifically those supporting Liverpool, claiming that they were late before changing it to an abundance of fake tickets.

The French even claimed that there were 40,000 'fake' tickets for the game, though that number has since been confirmed as being made up.

Fans were pepper sprayed going into the game, with little evidence to suggest it was a reasonable cause of action, and UEFA have begun an investigation into what went on.

Fans were being blamed straight away for being late but UEFA quickly changed the message. Image: Alamy

They were expected to be hamstrung by news that all the CCTV footage from the game had been deleted, due to a rule in the country that it gets deleted after seven days, unless it has been requested.

However, according to the Daily Mail, France's main rail operator, SNCF, have kept their footage, with their headquarters right by Stade de France Saint-Denis RER station.

"CCTV footage is normally automatically erased after three days. In the case of the Stade de France events, the automatic erasure of footage was blocked and the footage was retained, as permitted by law for a period of 30 days," a spokesperson told the newspaper.

UEFA only found out about the deletion of the rest of the security camera footage on Thursday, when it was revealed in the French senate.

Fans were not treated well by security. Image: Alamy

There was plenty of evidence from journalists and fans on the ground on the night but the footage from SNCF could certainly be of help.

"The film was seized on Friday, and is vital. SNCF cameras surround the Stade de France, and its approaches. Not only is the Stade at the centre of the rail network, but it's next door to SNCF headquarters," a judicial source from the Paris suburb said.

"The footage undoubtedly contains more images of violence carried out by all parties to the investigation, including by the police. The key is to work out whether this violence was lawful."

Hopefully the footage will find the truth about the evening in question, and officials can stop blaming fans for their shortcomings in Paris.