UEFA blames Champions League final chaos on Liverpool fans with fake tickets

UEFA has blamed Liverpool fans who purchased fake tickets for the chaotic scenes which marred the build-up to the Champions League final in Paris.

Kick-off was delayed by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool fans were prevented from entering the stadium, causing dangerous bottlenecks and potential crushes.

Unprovoked, police used pepper spray on women and young children to prevent the remote threat of supporters storming the fences in order to ensure they made it into the ground ahead of the scheduled start.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>“That was terrifying.” Liverpool fans detail what has been happening outside the Stade de France. ð´pic.twitter.com/P3ZtEsOdSW

After deciding to push back the start of the match until 21.30 local time, UEFA initially blamed the delay on supporters arriving late to Stade de France.

Following the match, however, the European governing body changed tact and laid the blame squarely at supporters who they alleged turned up without authentic tickets.

A statement read: ‘This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access.

‘As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Pepper spraying fans outside stadium in Paris pic.twitter.com/drgzEpR9gD

‘UEFA is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.’

Liverpool pre-empted UEFA’s statement, meanwhile, by confirming they would request a full an thorough