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Hundreds were arrested following the Champions League final

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Brighton, UK
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French authorities arrested over 400 people due to clashes between football fans following the Champions League final.

More than 400 arrests were made across France following Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)’s victory over Arsenal on Saturday evening, with clashes erupting between fans and police in Paris and other cities. Vehicles were damaged and businesses vandalised, officers injured and tear gas deployed. As is often the case after major league games, by Sunday morning, PSG’s win had been overshadowed by the fallout from the celebrations.

French authorities deployed more than 22,000 police officers across the country ahead of the final, including 8,000 in Paris alone. That’s a major disruption to public services, not to mention the impact on transport. Entire parts of the city were boarded up to prepare for the game, which saw PSG take home the Champions League trophy for the second consecutive year.

I’ve always been fascinated by the way football exists in two realities at once. In one reality, it’s just a sport. Twenty-two millionaires chasing a ball around some grass while the rest of us pretend our emotional wellbeing isn’t riding on the outcome.

In reality, football is clearly more than a sport. For many people it’s family heritage, community and belonging. It mirrors something like religion. The emotional stakes are ridiculous and completely understandable at the same time.

According to French authorities, 416 had been arrested in the early hours of Sunday, including 280 in Paris. Seven officers were injured, and police described the unrest as ‘absolutely unacceptable.’

Despite PSG’s victory, the violence erupted due to clashes between football fans. It’s unclear whether those involved were supporters of rival clubs, but Far-right leader Marine Le Pen wrote on X: ‘Only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots.’

‘Only in France does everyone feel compelled to lock themselves in their homes on the evening of a victory to avoid being confronted with violence,’ she wrote.

This isn’t uniquely French, of course. Football has a long history of turning collective joy into widespread disorder.

England has spent decades trying to rehabilitate its image after hooliganism became one of our most successful cultural exports. And across Europe and South America, authorities routinely prepare for violence around major fixtures with the kind of logistical planning usually reserved for political demonstrations.

Perhaps that’s because football still allows people to feel things publicly and collectively in a way that much of modern life doesn’t. It asks supporters to care deeply and loudly.

It’s still surprising that this level of emotional investment is so quick to devolve into violence. Across France on Sunday morning, six vehicles and two businesses were damaged, while a group of supporters stormed the Paris ring road, the Boulevard Peripherique, bringing traffic to a halt and setting off flares.

Fires were also started in the streets and bikes burnt.

After PSG’s Champions League win last June French authorities faced a similar situation, when two people tragically died and hundreds were arrested. PSG condemned the violence in a public statement, stressing that these ‘isolated acts are contrary to the club’s values and in no way represent the vast majority of our supporters.’

But here we are again. If every major trophy win requires a city to prepare as though it’s expecting a minor uprising, it’s worth asking whether we’ve become a little too comfortable treating post-match disorder as part of the entertainment.

Football and its fans surely deserve better than that?

The game’s greatest strength has always been its ability to create community. It brings together people who might otherwise have little in common. The scenes inside stadiums on Saturday night are precisely what make the sport so compelling. And those are the moments that should be making headlines.

Enjoyed this? Click here for more Gen Z focused change stories.

Senior Remote Writer Brighton, UK

I’m Flo, (She/Her) a Senior Remote Writer at Thred. I recently completed a Masters in Visual Anthropology, and seek to interrogate the ways digital spaces can amplify marginalised voices in the arts and cultural sectors. Follow me on LinkedIn or ping me some feedback via email.

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