The findings of the French Senate report shouldn't stop the events being in the limelight - it should make us hungrier for more answers.
An official parliamentary report into the Champions League final published today found it was unfair for the authorities "to have sought to blame Liverpool supporters". The report said supporters had been "misunderstood" and identified by the French authorities as "hooligans, throwing them back to the stereotypes of the 1980s".
The report said there was a "chain of administrative errors" from the authorities involved in the organisation of the match". The report, presented by senators François-Noël Buffet and Laurent Lafon, added "there was no real coordination between the different organisations and nobody had any foresight".
READ MORE: Liverpool FC fans falsely blamed for Paris Champions League final chaos, Senate report finds
The Senate's report completely exonerated Liverpool supporters of any blame, dispelling the desperate smears peddled by the French authorities for the past six weeks. Reds fans - caught in crushes reminiscent of Hillsborough outside the Stade de France - had to listen to lies such as Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin shameful claims that the issue came from "30-40,000" Liverpool fans with fake tickets.
But although the report directed the accountability to the French authorities - they still need to accept it, offer a full apology and a redaction of every lie told. Ted Morris, chair of Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, told the ECHO earlier today that Mr Darmanin should resign as a result of the report.
Mr Darmanin and the French authorities peddled a dangerous and wholly unacceptable narrative that prolonged the pain and anguish experienced by fans who attended the match that night. As the report rightly pointed out this was all done to "deflect attention from the state's inability to adequately manage the crowd".
This inability was perhaps seen most obviously by the heavy-handed approach to crowd control from the Paris police. Tear gas was used on fans including families, children and disabled people. And to make matters worse, when the supporters needed the police the most they turned their back.
Local thugs targeted helpless fans leaving the stadium, assaulting and robbing them. Mr Morris said he "feared for his life" as he made the 400m "walk of terror". The head of Paris' police Didier Lallement is expected to be replaced later this month. Fans caught in the "war zone" outside the stadium will press for Mr Darmanin to be as well.
Serious questions need to also be raised about the French authorities' stereotyping of Liverpool fans in Europe. As Mr Morris pointed out fans had travelled to a number of games across Europe last season without any incidents.
But a horrendously dated view from the French authorities led to fans being bottle-necked, crushed, tear gassed, abused and ignored. It was only due to the exemplary behaviour of Liverpool fans who were subjected to extreme provocation by the police that the result wasn't more serious than it was.
And because of this serious questions need to be asked of the stadium and the city of Paris' ability to host events of this magnitude. Since the Champions League final police at the stadium have been tripled. This can only be a good thing but again highlights how unprepared the stadium was to host the match.
With the Olympic Games and the Rugby World Cup both due in Paris in the next two years, you have to hope for the travelling fans' sake the authorities have taken the report's findings seriously and implement necessary changes.
And perhaps the biggest question that still demands an answer is how will UEFA respond? The report rightly holds the French authorities to account, but largely ignores UEFA's handling of the event.
An independent review by UEFA was launched last month to look into the governing body's planning of the showpiece finale. Points that need to be addressed will undoubtedly focus on the ticketing structure, bar code scanning issues, the role of the stewards, and the role of the police. But above all else we hope UEFA will take some accountability for their part in this fiasco and not play the blame game.
The senate's report has brought the truth into the light. But it shouldn't stop it being the focus of our attention. Instead it should make us hungrier for answers on why this was allowed to happen.
READ NEXT:
Mum issues deadly quarry demand after losing knee in horror 40ft fall
Undercover police officer 'infiltrates Scouse cocaine cartel'
Parents put newborn son in cot covered in frozen peas after he died
Beauty queen told police burglars had stolen her car after 4am crash
Mum and dad fined after 'top of the year' pupil misses school
