Amid accounts of 'appalling' and 'brutal' treatment of fans at the Champions League Final, lawmakers call for answers

By George Ramsay, CNN

Updated 1619 GMT (0019 HKT) May 30, 2022

Police and stewards stand at the turnstiles as fans queue ahead of the Champions League final.

(CNN)There is a blame game going on after the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, with differing positions adopted by lawmakers in the UK and France amid allegations of «appalling» and «brutal» treatment of fans.

The match was delayed by 35 minutes after Liverpool fans struggled to enter the Stade de France and tear gas was used by French police towards supporters held in tightly packed areas. On Monday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said counterfeit tickets were to blame for the delay, saying there was «a massive, industrial and organized fraud of fake tickets» and that «30,000 to 40,000 English fans… found themselves at the Stade de France either without a ticket or with falsified tickets.»UEFA, the governing body of European football, also said the buildup of fans at turnstiles was caused by fake tickets. Those figures have been disputed, while UK lawmaker Ian Byrne said attributing crowds and delays to fake tickets was «utter nonsense» and an attempt from French authorities and UEFA to cover their backs. Read MoreLiverpool fans are held at the gates — with many feeling the effects of tear gas — ahead of the Champions League final.There has been widespread criticism towards the treatment of fans at the hands of the French authorities deployed for the game. Photos and videos circulated on social media show Liverpool supporters crammed into fenced areas and tear gas used by police. Byrne, a UK Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby who says he was at the match as a Liverpool fan, described the situation outside the stadium as