It is an old adage that those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.
A year ago today, I remember walking down the banks of the Canal Saint-Denis on my way to watch Liverpool FC play in another Champions League final. There's a certain romance attached to winning a European Cup and the way Paris basked in the glorious Spring sunshine on May 28, 2022 was further proof in my mind that this was the perfect backdrop for the Reds to seal a magnificent seventh trophy win in the competition.
I walked down the banks of the canal sipping a bottle of beer, having a laugh with friends and was overcome with a sense that these were indeed the days and I was about to finally be in the ground to witness my team lift the most prestigious trophy in club football.
READ MORE: UEFA publish full report and apologise to Liverpool fans after Paris Champions League final chaos
But while my usual pessimistic approach to being a football fan had been abandoned and I was dreaming of Jordan Henderson's mini shuffle, the grim reality is this alternative route to the stadium meant I narrowly avoided the mayhem that will forever mar the 2022 Champions League final.
A member of my group was a seasoned match-goer and identified a route to the ground on foot that avoided the hectic crowds of a busy train. Little did he know at the time this decision meant we weren't one of the thousands put in grave danger by French police, who, unfathomably, directed a mass of fans from the Metro station through a built up area and into a narrow underpass underneath the A1 motorway that was never able to sustain that amount of people.
This was one of many near misses from that awful day, as I remember arriving at Gare du Nord station the following morning to a sea of broken supporters desperate to get home and flee the French capital. Each person had their own harrowing tale from the night before and I was horrified to meet up with one of the people I had travelled to the game with and find he was attacked by a local gang moments after I'd left them outside the Stade de France.
Many had similar stories as thugs targeted supporters while the aggressive French police presence from inside the stadium was nowhere to be seen when it was actually required. The near misses from May 28, 2022 will live with me for the rest of my life – and I'm one of the lucky ones so can't imagine how awful it would have been to be one of the thousands caught up in genuinely distressing situations.
The horror of last year's Champions League final renewed a feeling of distrust amongst myself and Liverpool FC supporters over whether the authorities are capable of staging their own showpiece occasions. The trauma of the Hillsborough disaster is something embedded into the consciousness of everyone associated with Liverpool FC and fans at the Stade de France were well aware of how devastating gross organisational failings at a major sporting event can be.
UEFA and the French police are fortunate they didn't have a tragedy on their hands as this collective memory amongst supporters was one of the reasons fans sprung into action and behaved in way that the Independent Panel Report published in February confirmed saved lives.
An understanding of what has come before has also been key to the truth coming to light as the authorities quickly went into survival mode when they realised things had taken a turn and resorted to cliched negative stereotypes of football fans in an attempt to pass the blame.
However, they targeted the wrong club and the wrong city as Liverpool has sadly been in a similar situation before and knows how to unite to counter a false narrative. The Spirit of Shankly held a public meeting in the aftermath of the final where fans came with pertinent questions on the nature of the police's response and the stadium's suitability to stage such an event at short notice.
The way supporters could swiftly mobilise to pull apart the false narrative being shaped was simultaneously impressive and depressing, as the reality is they should not be so well-versed in demanding answers after authorities fail.
These accounts were key in bringing the truth to light as fans provided testimonies to the French Senate. Supporters such as Spirit of Shankly chair, Joe Blott, and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association chair, Ted Morris, gave powerful accounts of what really happened on that day that were vital in fans being completely vindicated from blame.
The tireless campaigning led to the damning Independent Panel Report that put the blame squarely at the foot of UEFA and the French authorities for what happened. Apologies have subsequently been issued to supporters, but it is important that we don't just move on from the horrors of that day now the truth is known.
On the anniversary of last year's final, I will be one of many Liverpool FC fans reflecting on the nightmare of Paris today. I hope key figures in UEFA, the French Police and the French Government are too. In a statement after the independent review, UEFA General Secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, vowed the organisation "is committed to learning from the events of May 28" to ensure change is implemented for the better.
I hope this is not corporate lip service and UEFA are treating the 21 critical recommendations the panel recommended as a matter of urgency. I hope the French police follow suit and change their systemic heavy handed approach that has became an all too regular occurrence at football games staged in the country.
It's only by truly accepting the past and learning from it that the nightmarish scenes from last year wont be a part of our future.
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