Champions League final fallout continues as footage of ‘extreme violence’ destroyed before reaching court

The fallout from last month’s Champions League finale has continued on Thursday, amid confirmation that potentially damning footage surrounding the actions of the police presence at the clash has been permanently deleted.

The latest edition of European club football’s most high-profile fixture of course played out just shy of two weeks ago.

The meeting in question saw Real Madrid and Liverpool face off for the 2nd time in five years, with the result, once again, having gone in favour of the former en route to a historic 14th title in the competition.

REAL MADRID LEAD! 🔥

Vinícius Júnior steals in at the back post to tap home from close range ⚽️#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/owgAzrA75V

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 28, 2022

Unfortunately, though, what should have proven a joyous occasion in Paris was ultimately marred by ugly scenes in the buildup to the clash getting underway.

As fans across the globe will of course be aware, kick-off in the Champions League final was delayed by almost 40 minutes, owing to major security issues both in and around the Stade de France.

As supporters, largely of a Liverpool persuasion, attempted to make their way into the ground, many were halted in their tracks, as a lack of communication and organisation surrounding the event as a whole left thousands unable to make their way to their seats.

Even more alarming was footage showcasing the heavy-handedness of the police presence in attendance, as innocent attendees in possession of perfectly valid tickets were assaulted and hosed down with tear gas.

This is fucking outrageous. pic.twitter.com/vuSTQblwzq

— Andy’s Football Tips (@AndyRobsonTips) May 28, 2022

With large sections of fans from both sides, in turn, having missed some if not all of the 90 minutes in France’s capital, the backlash stemming from the event has since been understandably widespread.

Demands have mounted for footage of the pre-match scenes to be handed over to the relevant authorities, in a bid to bring punishment upon those most responsible.

As alluded to above, though, any such hopes have, on Thursday, been definitively distinguished.

Speaking this afternoon, Erwan Le Prévos, director of institutional relations for the French Football Federation, confirmed that, after the country’s justice system failed to request the evidence in time, all footage of events at the Stade de France has been ‘automatically destroyed’.

This comes despite the images in question being of an ‘extremely violent’ nature:

“The images are available for seven days. They are then automatically destroyed. We should have had a requisition to provide them to the different populations. , the images are extremely violent”.

🔴 ALERTE INFO
Les images de vidéosurveillance du Stade de France sur lesquelles on pouvait voir des vidéos “extrêmement violentes” ont été supprimées

Elles n’ont pas été réclamées par la justice dans le délai légal de 7 jours https://t.co/fnmhnZaWDt pic.twitter.com/mrgytrzNTO

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) June 9, 2022