Izuchukwu Okosi
Paris Saint-Germain players are still in celebration mood and duly took to the streets of Paris Sunday evening in the aftermath of their UEFA Champions League final win over Inter Milan.
But the team’s celebrations were overshadowed by crowd trouble that broke out hours before the open bus parade.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPSG have never won the UEFA Champions League despite having had some of the world’s best players in the game’s history in previous campaigns.
PSG have had the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in past years but they have never quite led the Paris billionaires to European glory.
That was shattered on Saturday night with the 5-0 hiding of Inter Milan at the Munich Stadium.
The team held an hour-long open top bus parade through the city. There was a heavy police presence after two people died late Saturday night.
A 17-years-old boy was stabbed in the chest in the south-south town of Dax while a 23-year-old man who was riding a scooter in central Paris was also killed after being hit by a vehicle.
Paris police boss Laurent Nunez told the media that 192 people were injured in the overnight clashes, with 491 arrests in Paris alone.
Flares and fireworks were set off, bus shelters smashed and cars torched, with much of the disorder occurring in the capital.
Twenty-two police officers and seven firefighters were injured in the melee, while 264 vehicles were set on fire.
A car ploughed into PSG fans in Grenoble in south-east France, leaving four people injured.
All those hurt were from the same family, police said. Two were severely injured.
READ ALSO: UEFA Champions League: PSG Batter Inter Milan For First Title
PSG released a statement on Sunday condemning “in the strongest possible terms the violence that occurred during the celebrations”.
“These isolated acts are contrary to the club’s values and in no way represent the vast majority of our supporters, whose exemplary behaviour throughout the season deserves to be commended,” the club said.
Despite the disorder, a decision was made to go ahead with the victory parade on Sunday.
A cap of 100,000 attendees was put on the event.
PSG’s players made their way to the Elysee Palace after the parade to be greeted by France president Emmanuel Macron.
They will close their celebrations with an event for season-ticket holders at the club’s Parc des Princes stadium later on Sunday night.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
