Liverpool say French ministers ‘deflecting responsibility’ for Champions League chaos

Liverpool's chief executive has accused French authorities of trying to “deflect responsibility” for the chaotic scenes that marred the start of Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris.

Uefa announced on Monday evening it had commissioned an independent report into the scenes outside the Stade de France that saw Liverpool fans tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed by riot police as they waited in huge queues prior to the game against Real Madrid.

The governing body initially blamed the late arrival of fans for the problems, which included some supporters being crushed, before later issuing a statement referring to fake tickets as the cause.

French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera reiterated the latter claims on Monday, while French interior minister Gerald Darmanin alleged “fraud at an industrial level” leading to the fiasco. She added that the problem was exacerbated later by local youths trying to force their way in to the game.

Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan told the club’s website: “I would just say we are incredibly surprised that someone in that position would make comments in the first place at this point, when we haven’t had adequate time to understand what happened. There hasn’t been an independent investigation to establish all the facts.

“We should know all the facts to make sure that the scenes that we’ve all seen – absolutely disgraceful – from Saturday don’t ever happen again.

“Making comments as deeply unhelpful as that, we just feel that everyone should be focused on getting the investigation right and less about making inflammatory comments that attempt to deflect responsibility for what happened on Saturday night.

“I think it’s important that folks know that our chairman, Tom Werner, sent a