French police chief apologises for tear-gassing fans

The head of Paris police acknowledged the "failure" of security operations for the Champions League final last month and apologised for tear-gassing supporters as they tried to enter the stadium.

Liverpool fans were tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed by police as they waited in huge queues prior to the game against Real Madrid, with the access problems leading to a kick-off delay of 36 minutes.

Real Madrid supporters also suffered issues with with fans attacked and assaulted outside the stadium.

"It is obviously a failure," Didier Lallement told a commission investigating the fiasco at the French Senate.

"It was a failure because people were pushed around and attacked. It's a failure because the image of the country was undermined."

He said he was "sorry" for authorising the use of tear gas to move supporters away from the stadium before the match, but made the claim that there was "no other means" of relieving the growing pressure at the gates.

Both Liverpool and Real Madrid have called for an full investigation into the policing and oversight of the final.

UEFA initially blamed the late arrival of fans for the problems, which included some supporters being crushed, before changing their approach and later issuing a statement referring to fake tickets as the cause.

French government ministers reiterated the latter claims, alleging "fraud at an industrial level" leading to the fiasco that followed.

Those claims have been met with scepticism in France and further afield with and the version of events has been challenged by fans and other independent eye-witnesses, including numerous media outlets.