UEFA explained this Saturday that before the start of the Champions League final “thousands of fans who had bought false tickets” blocked the turnstiles of one of the entrance doors enabled for Liverpool fans to the Saint-Denis stadium.
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According to the official UEFA statement, due to this circumstance, the match began “35 minutes late to allow access to the” largest “number of fans of the English club with legal seats.
“Before the start of the match, the turnstiles in the Liverpool area were blocked by thousands of fans who had bought fake tickets that did not work at the turnstiles. This created a backlog of fans trying to enter (the stadium). As a consequence, the start of the game was delayed 35 minutes to allow access to as many fans as possible with original tickets,” he said in the note.
The police used tear gas
In this sense, UEFA reported that, once the match began, “with the increase in the number of fans outside the stadium”, the French Police “dispersed them with tear gas and forced them to leave the stadium.”
“UEFA stands in solidarity with those affected by these events and will review these matters urgently with the French police and authorities, as well as the French Football Federation,” UEFA added.
Liverpool asks for explanations
For its part, Liverpool issued a statement requesting explanations from UEFA for what happened in the vicinity of the Stade de France and requested an investigation into the events.
Thousands of Liverpool fans had to wait for hours to get into the stadium, suffering muggings, assaults and being pepper-sprayed. This led to the start of the match being delayed for 36 minutes.
“We are very disappointed by the stadium entrance problems and perimeter security breaches that Liverpool fans have suffered at the Stade de France tonight,” Liverpool said in a statement.
“It is the biggest match in European football and fans should not have to experience the images seen tonight. We have called for a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable problems.”
