Chaos and panic in the final of Saint-Denis: "They were going to sack, to steal everything"

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"They came to take everything away from us, to rob us, but it was the gendarmes who threw pepper spray and rubber bullets at us. We went down to the Metro and it had already become a mousetrap. If you tried to go out to find a taxi, they asked you 300 euros for get you out of there."

Under this testimony, between disbelief and indignation, many other stories fit.

Those of hundreds of Real Madrid fans who were trapped on Saturday in the organizational chaos of the Champions League.

,

a Real Madrid member since 1987, a veteran of five other finals.

"We began to run and we heard the police shots. We took our six-year-old boy in our arms and covered his face so that he would not see that horror."

After midnight, the scenes of panic followed one another at the exit of the white fans of the Stade France.

Between gates N, L and K, along the narrow walkway that led to the entrance to the Metro line 13. Stairs without handrails, a floor strewn with glass.

"They were going to sack, pushing anyone who got in the way. I saw one who had taken a policeman's pistol and ran away with it," says

, another direct witness.

"Seeing the danger, we took some broken bottles from the ground to try to defend ourselves, although we didn't have to use them," adds this hotelier from Leganés.

The climate of marginalization in Saint-Denis, a suburb with a large Muslim community from former French colonies, exploded in the face of the security forces, unable to control the criminal mob.

"They came in groups of four and shouted 'Hala, Madrid' before surrounding you. In search of your mobile, your wallet or your backpack. Some would run out with the money in their socks," explains

, de la Peña Capote and Montera, with three decades of membership on the card.

Shortage of troops

's purse

gave rise to another threat of ambush.

In it he kept the key to the hotel where he was staying, so the thieves called there.

"They said that they had found it and wanted to return it. At the reception they told us not to even think of going back there. In any case, we insisted, saying that we would reward them for it. Then he began to threaten me, telling me that he knew where I was staying and that he would go looking for me to rape me", relates this Madrilenian.

The shortage of police officers, with a meager CRS riot force, had already become apparent two hours before the start of the final.

At that time, one of the priority objectives of criminals was tickets in digital format, whose price at that time could rise to 1,000 euros on resale.

"Arriving from the Fan Zone, in the first security ring, we saw a crowd before accessing the bridge that gave access to the stadium. We realized that they were trying to take photos on our mobile phones, to try to get hold of the ticket code" Bernabeu says.

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