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Champions League final: Investigation into Paris stadium chaos

Fans out side ground

Uefa, which runs European football, says it will "review... urgently" what happened to some fans at the Champions League final in Paris.

It comes after lots of problems outside the ground which delayed the start of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

The French government has called a meeting with Uefa, the French Football Association, stadium officials and police on Monday to "draw lessons" from the event.

Lots of fans were left crowding outside the ground and there were claims of bad organisation, people trying to use fake tickets to get in, and French police using too much force to control fans.

Some fans weren't able to watch the game.

Image source, PA
Image caption,

This is the message Uefa put on the the screens inside the stadium

The kick-off at the Stade de France was delayed by 36 minutes, with Uefa initially blaming the "late arrival" of fans.

But many Liverpool supporters spoke of long queues in the hours leading up to the game and a heavy-handed police response to the build-up of fans.

Uefa later put the delay down to "security reasons" and said the turnstiles at the Liverpool end had become "blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work".

Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in the final.

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,

Some Liverpool fans couldn't get into watch the game

Paris police said they made 105 arrests at the game but Merseyside Police said its officers who were deployed in Paris and attended the match "reported the vast majority of fans behaved in an exemplary manner, arriving at turnstiles early and queuing as directed".

Liverpool FC also called for an investigation into the event and said they would be asking fans to contact them directly with their experiences.

Speaking after the game, Liverpool defender Andy Robertson said he had given a ticket to a friend who was then denied entry.

Image source, 大象传媒 Sport

He said his friend "got told it was a fake, which I assure you it wasn't ... it was a shambles really."

UK Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, whose government department is also in charge of sport in the UK, said: "The footage and accounts from Liverpool fans and the media on their entry to the Stade de France last night are deeply concerning.

"Thousands of ticket holders travelled to Paris in good time to support their team in the biggest match of their season.

"I urge Uefa to launch a formal investigation into what went wrong and why, in coordination with stadium staff, the French Police, Federation Francaise de Football, Merseyside Police and Liverpool Football Club."