Paddy Pimblett compares Liverpool final to The Purge after machete gang horror

Paddy Pimblett was left fearing for his safety during the Champions League final chaos in Paris last weekend after seeing men running around with weapons – and later learned that his close friend was attacked with a razor blade.

The UFC contender attended the Stade de France fixture as a guest of Liverpool and saw supporters attacked and robbed before being falsely told that his legitimate ticket he purchased from the club was fake.

The Liverpool local has spoken in depth over his experiences in France last weekend, lashing out at claims over fake tickets and opening up on how his friend was almost cut by a blade.

Pimblett told RMCSportCombat: "When we came out of that cage there were groups of 30 men running around in big packs, some of them had weapons on them.

"Some of them had machetes and knives and bars and stuff like that, bats, and you had to just try and get away from the ground.

"People were getting pinned to the floor and getting watches…I saw a few people getting man-bags took off them where they would run over and pull them and slice what was round them and just run off with the bag.

"Even before the game I saw a few tickets getting snatched and people running away with tickets. But as I say, it was outside the ground after it when it was the worst.

"Obviously getting in was bad with the police teargassing everyone and the little sections we had to get through to the ground was ridiculous.

"They were squashing thousands and thousands of people in-between little gaps and when we were asking the police officers what was going on they were just laughing at us.

"As I say though, I've never been so scared for my own safety and for the people around me as when I came out of that ground on Saturday night."

Pimblett attended the ground with his uncle and friend, with another acquaintance aged 50 accompanied by his young adult sons. He added that a group of Irish fans joined them outside the ground, which made their large group too big a target for thieves.

The 27-year-old said he couldn't understand why the locals to Saint-Denis were screaming 'Hala Madrid' in their faces, with his group joined by an older man who had been pinned down to the floor and a dog set on him while his watch and bag stolen and pockets emptied.

Pimblett also recounted a story of the arms of Liverpool fans being grabbed from underneath a small bridge and pulled down before their pockets were emptied.

He added: "There were people with machetes just running round. I've been saying this the last few days, the only thing I can compare this to is The Purge.

"Have you seen the movie The Purge, where you can do what you want for 12 hours, that's what it was like. That's what I feel it was like, The Purge, there was no laws for 12 hours, you could do what you wanted."

When asked about the police presence, Pimblett added: "I didn't see many, no.

"The first time I saw police was by the Liverpool coaches which was like a 20 minute walk and it was crazy because there was a group of about 50 men stood outside the Liverpool coach as it was trying to leave, and the men wouldn't let it leave.

"The fans were going to the front of the coach to try to get them away."

Adding: "I think the men wanted fans to get off so they could beat them up and mug them. And that's what I mean, police came and this was happening on the pavement and instead of the police walking down the pavement and stopping them all they walked along the road and straight past it."

Pimblett also discussed the issue regarding fake tickets, questioning how 40,000 would ever make it into circulation before questioning French politician Gerald Darmanin, who has continually repeated claims that Liverpool fans were to blame for the events.

Pimblett said: "What politicians do every day is illegal, they lie, they cheat and they rob the public but 'it's okay!' It's lies, complete and utter lies and he (Gerald Darmanin) should resign from his job because he is disgusting and despicable.

"It's an easy scapegoat to use Liverpool fans."

Pimblett then mentioned how his ticket, which was given to him by Liverpool Football Club, was called fake by a steward after he used a pen – before backtracking after finding out where it came from.

Pimblett believes that many fans would've had their real tickets taken away by staff, who then sold them on to other attendees, with a friend of Andy Robertson also being accused of having a fake ticket despite its source.

In another harrowing event from the day, the UFC star spoke about how one of his friends from Liverpool, who was accompanied by his 14-year-old son, was forced to push away a stranger who then tried to slap him.

However, on a closer look he noticed that the man had a razor blade in his hand and missed his face by mere inches.

Pimblett concluded that he would only stay in the centre of Paris should he ever return to the city, with UEFA currently conducting an investigation over the events and France opening their own criminal investigation into the chaos.

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