UEFA and French officials have blamed Liverpool fans for the delay in the start of the Champions League final on Saturday, while British police say the Reds’ fans were “perfect”.
The start of the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool was delayed by more than half an hour, and security forces tried to deal with the fans around the stadium.
Liverpool Football Club has called for an investigation after its fans were beaten outside a stadium in Paris and used tear gas several times.
And British Prime Minister Brandon Lewis, in a statement to Sky News, described the use of “offensive tactics” against Liverpool fans as “alarming”.
Security seemed to be tightly controlled and many fans waited outside the stadium for hours, and some were not allowed in until the end of the first half.
French police, meanwhile, said they had made 68 arrests in pro-government areas.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darwin blamed some of those who traveled from Britain.
“Thousands of British fans stormed the stadium without tickets or with fake tickets, and in some cases attacked ticket inspectors,” he tweeted after visiting the stadium’s security headquarters.
“The efforts and scams of thousands of British fans have complicated the work of stadium staff and police,” said French Sports Minister Odia Castra.
UEFA also blamed English fans, saying: “On the eve of the game, the gates of Liverpool fans were closed by thousands of people who bought fake tickets that did not work at the gates.
But British security officials said that “the behavior of the masses at the gates in horrific conditions was exemplary.”
Liverpool Football Club said the UEFA version of events was “completely incorrect”.
And England defender Andy Robertson has revealed that a friend has been accused of having a fake ticket, “and I can assure you it is not, it was a real mess.”
As French officers, with batons and riot shields, ran from gate to gate to prevent a group of fans from attacking the stadium without showing tickets, Liverpool fans said the gates were closed.
“It seemed like only one gate was open,” said one fan, Carl Nods, 63.
He described the whole affair as shameful, adding: “The way we were treated was shocking and there is no law.
“We are deeply disappointed by the problems with entering the stadium and the deterioration of the security environment that Liverpool fans faced this evening at the Stade de France,” Liverpool said in a statement.
“This is the best game in European football and fans should not have to watch the scenes we saw tonight.”
The English club has confirmed that it has formally requested an inquiry into the causes of “these unacceptable cases”.
Real Madrid defeated Liverpool in the French capital Paris on Saturday at the Prince Park Stadium and won the Champions League final for the fourteenth time in their history.
The first half ended in a goalless draw until Brazilian Vinicius scored in the second half against Liverpool.
The match was postponed by 36 minutes on Saturday in Paris due to “security issues” related to the “delay in the arrival of fans” at the Stade de France in Paris.
AFP reporters noted that the stadium stands were not full 10 minutes before the start of the program at 19:00 Greenwich Mean Time. Minutes before the whistle blew, long queues waited to enter the stadium.
While the stadium announcer announced that the start of the match had been delayed by a maximum of 15 minutes, the two clubs announced that the match would start at 9:30 pm local time, half an hour later than the original time, before Liverpool announced it later. Slowly Which was delayed for 36 minutes.
According to AFP, police in the French capital tried to bypass the first barricade around the stadium, but access to the stadium was “tight”. Videos on social media show fans climbing through the stadium gates trying to enter.
Police confirm that the first circle around the stadium was “trying to infiltrate”, while some Liverpool fans were impatient and expressed upset because of the waiting time.
Less than half an hour before the start of the match, Joe became tense when he saw about a thousand fans at the slow entrance gate and was stopped by security forces.
“Open the doors,” they shouted angrily.
Tear gas was fired so that several dozen young people could not climb the obstacles outside the stadium and try to get close.
About 6,800 police, gendarmes and firefighters were equipped to secure the final, which was moved from St. Petersburg to Paris due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Lebanon Debate
