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European football governing body UEFA has blamed fans that purchased fake tickets for the issues at the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France on Saturday, which saw the match delayed by 35 minutes.<\/p>\n
In a statement, UEFA said: \u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans of the Premier League club were subjected to tear gas from the French police, as thousands of supporters were left waiting outside of the stadium in Paris.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d continued the statement.<\/p>\n
Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan gave a statement once back in England and said: \u201cI\u2019m just back \u2013 obviously an incredibly difficult night, a disappointing night. But what happened outside the stadium completely overshadowed it. The stadium entry and the breakdown of security in the perimeter was absolutely unacceptable and frankly the treatment of our fans as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we discussed last night with UEFA, we are asking for a full and transparent investigation; an independent investigation that can help to establish the facts. It\u2019s absolutely imperative that we understand what happened last night and how we got into that situation where people\u2019s safety was put at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely imperative that we understand what happened last night and how we got into that situation where people\u2019s safety was put at risk. It\u2019s important we understand what happened last night but it\u2019s also important we make sure that we take whatever the lessons are and ensure it never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issue with \u2018fake tickets\u2019 also affected the players, with media reports surrounding Liverpool player Andy Robertson. Robertson had purchased a ticket for his friend who was reportedly denied entry in the first instance, as stewards deemed the ticket to be fake.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe luckily managed to get in because one of the club representatives sorted it but they said it was a fake ticket which I can assure you it wasn\u2019t. For me it shouldn\u2019t really happen, UEFA should have been better organised,\u201d Robertson told The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n Liverpool has said that it has \u201cofficially requested a formal investigation\u201d into what happened in Paris.<\/p>\n UEFA added: \u201cUEFA is 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Liverpool<\/a> and UEFA<\/a> had issued warnings on fake tickets and unauthorised ticket sales leading up to the final, which ultimately saw Real Madrid lift the trophy as champions.<\/p>\n Image: Janosch Diggelmann<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n