Paris (dpa)
With kick-off delayed for a full 40 minutes, Liverpool FC called for an investigation into the “unacceptable events” surrounding the Champions League final.
The start of the match was delayed 40 minutes yesterday, “Saturday”, at the “Stade de France” in the suburb of “Saint-Denis” in the French capital, Paris.
At first, the organizers explained that the delay was due to security reasons, and then the fans arrived late.
Liverpool lost the match once morest Real Madrid, with a clean goal, while video clips showed the presence of many vacant seats in the stands of Liverpool fans in conjunction with the original scheduled start of the match.
News reports and tweets on social media indicated that there were chaotic scenes outside the stadium, and that many fans waited for hours to enter the stadium, and some fans also tried to enter the stadium without tickets to attend the match.
After this, UEFA announced: “The turnstiles behind the Liverpool stands have been blocked by thousands of fans who bought fake tickets that do not work at these turnstiles.”
He explained, “This led to crowding and an accumulation of fans trying to enter, which resulted in delaying the start of the match by 35 minutes to allow the largest possible number of fans with valid tickets to enter.”
UEFA confirmed that the police dispersed the fans with tear gas and added: “The European Union sympathizes with those affected by these events, and will review and evaluate these matters urgently with the French police and authorities, and the French Football Federation.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool said: “We are very disappointed by the events of entering the stadium and the breakdown of the security fence that Liverpool fans faced this evening at the Stade de France.”
“It is the greatest match in European football, and the fans should not have gone through these scenes that we have seen… We have officially requested that a formal investigation be opened into the reasons behind these unacceptable incidents,” he added.
The French police had published a tweet in English, Spanish and French shortly before the original start of the match, and stated: “Do not enter by force” into the stadium.
In another tweet, former England football legend Gary Lineker said: “I find it impossible for this to happen on the ground. It seems very dangerous.
Absolute massacre. I am not sure there might be a worse organization than this.”