French minister blames ‘thousands of ticketless Liverpool fans’ for Champions League chaos

French authorities are blaming ‘thousands of ticketless Liverpool fans’ for the chaos at the Stade de France during the Champions League final on Saturday evening.

Kick-off for the match was delayed by 36 minutes after many Liverpool supporters were unable to get inside the stadium and were left in a dangerous situation outside the ground.

French police have been heavily criticised for using tear gas on Liverpool fans, including children, who posed no threat and were simply waiting to get through their gate.

Metro.co.uk reporter Dan Austin, who attended the match, wrote in his first-hand account that he spent two hours and 45 minutes locked outside Gate Z, while some fans with valid tickets were asked for bribes by stewards in order to enter the stadium.

Locals without tickets were also seen amongst the crowds attempting to evade security, while others with legitimate tickets were unable to take their seats until the end of the first half.

But France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin posted on Twitter that ‘thousands of British “fans” without a ticket or with fake tickets, have forced their way in and, at times, assaulted the stewards’.

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French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera also placed the blame on English supporters.

‘The attempts of intrusion and fraud by thousands of English fans have complicated the work of the stewards and police forces, but they will not tarnish this victory,’ she posted on Twitter.

The Paris police headquarters said in a statement: ‘Many supporters without tickets for the match or holders of counterfeit tickets disrupted access to the Stade de France, at the level of the external security