Julia Vigas, wife of Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara, has spoken out on her experience at Stade de France on the night of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League final.
The showpiece event of Europe’s premier club competition was marred by violence meted out by locals on Liverpool fans who were waiting to get into the venue. There were a number of injuries and police escalated the situation by teargassing the visiting fans.
Some of the friends and family of the players who were at the gam were not spared the violence and Vigas, who came with her children to watch her husband compete for his third Champions League title with his third different club.
She took to Instagram to voice out her grievances amidst calls for investigation and punishment of the violent locals. Her post read: “I don’t like to comment on these things but this time I need to express myself.
“Yesterday’s final was a total nightmare, and this is not about football, it goes far beyond the result. Due to a lack of organisation and security, there were so many scary moments. Constantly being threatened by bands of robbers, that were trying to assault us and slipped onto the stadium without a ticket.
“For that many supporters were left out of the game triggering avalanches of people. Tear gas was thrown by the police at families and supporters, and some of them also were beaten down. All of them innocent people. Because [of] all this trouble, we had to leave the stadium escorted for our own safety.
“Something has to be done, these kinds of things cannot happen in any kind of event and we ask for responsibility. It could have been much worse.”
Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan has taken up the case, stating that the club will get to the root of the incidents with UEFA.
Hamann rates Liverpool players after season; calls Thiago ‘the most overrated player in the world’
Meanwhile, the Spaniard has received one of the harshest criticisms of his career from former Liverpool star Dietmar Hamann.
The German, who played for Liverpool between 1999 and 2006 and won the 2004/05 Champions League was commenting generally on his impression of the Reds’ players’ performances this season.
Writing in his Sky Sports column, he said of Thiago: “In my opinion, the Reds need to modernize the team a bit, especially in midfield. I don’t understand the hype about Thiago. For me, he is one of the most overrated players in European football.
“When things are going well and you have a lot of possession he’s a good player, but when push comes to shove you don’t see him. If you need someone who sets accents, then he doesn’t do it.”
Hamann also wrote on Thiago’s midfield partners Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson. “Keita is also a disappointment, Henderson is a worker. They need a player who can make the difference and give the team that extra something.”
