Paris police chief Didier Lallement has apologised to Liverpool fans for using tear gas at the Champions League final and his wrong estimation of the number of fake tickets that were in circulation.
The European showpiece in Paris was twice delayed due to what UEFA initially described as "security reasons" outside the Stade de France due to crowd congestion.
Real Madrid went on to lift the trophy by defeating Liverpool 1-0 after the match started 36 minutes late at 21:36 local time, but it was events outside the ground that dominated the headlines.
Liverpool fans had complained of heavy-handed policing outside the stadium, with video footage showing tear gas being used on supporters.
UEFA blamed ticketless fans trying to force entry and fake tickets, but Liverpool demanded an investigation and European football's governing body apologised to spectators and opened an inquiry.
The UK's culture secretary Nadine Dorries suggested fans had been "treated like animals" at the match, contrary to the suggestions by French ministers that had pinned the blame on supporters.
Lallement, speaking at the French Senate on Thursday, admitted to making mistakes and acknowledged the overuse of tear gas was not necessary.
"It is obviously a failure. It was a failure because people were pushed around and attacked. It was a failure because the image of the country was undermined," he said.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also said that much of the blame lay with Liverpool fans and that 30,000 to 40,000 arrived without valid tickets.
Darmanin's claims were met with widespread backlash, with Reds' supporters group Spirit of Shankly questioning the "incompetence" of the organisation around the final.
Lallement has acknowledged that the basis for the ticket estimation was unfounded.
"The figure has no scientific virtue but it came from feedback from police and public transport officials," Lallement added. "Maybe I was wrong, but it was constructed from all the information harvested.
"Whether there are 30,000 or 40,000 people, it doesn't change anything. What matters is that there were people, in large numbers, likely to disrupt the proper organisation of the filtering.
"But that we count them precisely to within 5000, it doesn't change much."
France defender Hernandez to miss Euro 2024 after suffering ACL injury
Lucas Hernandez will miss France's Euro 2024 campaign after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund will take a slender lead to the Parc des Princes for next week's semi-final second leg after Niclas Fullkrug's strike powered them past PSG in Wednesday's first leg in Germany.
Hernandez sustained a knee injury while chasing after Fullkrug in the build-up to the goal and was substituted after a brief attempt to play on.
On Thursday, PSG announced an MRI scan had revealed an ACL tear in his left knee, which will require surgery in the coming days.
Hernandez, who has 37 senior international caps, will now miss Euro 2024, with France set to open their Group D campaign against Austria in Dusseldorf on June 17.
Didier Deschamps' side then face the Netherlands in Leipzig four days later, before taking on Poland in Dortmund on June 25.
Hernandez was part of France's squad for the 2022 World Cup but sustained another ligament injury during Les Bleus' opening match against Australia, missing the rest of the tournament and not returning to club football until the start of 2023-24.
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect
Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.
Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.
The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.
Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three.
In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.
"In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."
Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club.
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