Merseyside Police have praised the behaviour of Liverpool fans during the "shocking circumstances" they had to endure in Paris ahead of Saturday night’s Champions League final.
The Reds were defeated in the Champions League final by Real Madrid but the showpiece event was overshadowed by pre-match chaos as police used tear gas on supporters as the kick-off time was delayed by 36 minutes. Thousands of fans were unable to enter the stadium. A number of fans began tweeting in the hour before kick-off that huge queues meant they were unable to enter the ground while a BBC journalist was among those pepper sprayed by police.
The large queues formed shortly after the Liverpool team bus was caught up in traffic. The Liverpool end was noticeably patchy less than half an hour before kick-off as supporters struggled to get in with multiple fans caught up in the queues sharing photographs of locked gates of the stadium, with a bottle-neck of fans building up around the streets. This was despite thousands of fans queueing for hours but still not being able to access the ground ahead of kick-off.
Merseyside Police's matchday officers tweeted that it was "the worst European match I've ever worked or experienced." They added: "I thought the behaviour of the fans at the turnstiles was exemplary in shocking circumstances. You were not late 100%."
It followed a statement from Liverpool which read: "We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France.
"This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight. We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues."
Liverpool legend and former manager Sir Kenny Dalglish tweeted in the aftermath of the match: “The Liverpool fans are special. The way they were treated by authorities was an absolute joke. Nobody should ever be afraid to go to a football game. Thank you to everyone who came to Paris. The Fan Park was unbelievable. I hope you all get home safe. What a season! YNWA”
European football’s governing body UEFA, who blamed ‘the late arrival of fans at the stadium’, said after the match that they were "sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.
"In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles."
They added: "This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick-off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access. As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick-off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium."
