UEFA Champions League UEFA Commissions Independent Investigation Into Stade de France Gate Incident

Uefa has commissioned an independent investigation into the incidents outside the stadium that caused the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid to be postponed on Saturday.

The match at the Stade de France in Paris was delayed by over half an hour due to massive lineups of Liverpool fans, with French police eventually unleashing tear gas on the throng.

In the midst of a dispute over the game’s policing, French authorities complained of “industrial-scale” ticket fraud on Monday.

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A “complete study,” according to Uefa, will look into a range of aspects.

It goes on to say that these include all parties participating in the final’s decision-making, responsibilities, and behaviour.

In a statement, Uefa said: “Evidence will be gathered from all relevant parties, and the independent report’s findings will be made public once it is finished. Uefa will assess the following measures after receiving the findings.”

The report will be independently compiled, with Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues of Portugal in charge of the review’s creation.

Uefa first blamed the problems on “late arrival” of fans, delaying kick-off by 36 minutes, with Liverpool losing 1-0 to Real Madrid, the Spanish champions.

The interior and sports ministers of France recognised that crowd control during the final was tough, but blamed the pandemonium on fans with bogus tickets and local teenagers attempting to push their way into the stadium.

“Supporters without tickets or with fraudulent tickets were not the primary concern,” Mathieu Valet, a spokeswoman for France’s independent police commissioners union (SICP), told the BBC’s Newshour.

He stated, “It’s evident that we needed more police; we didn’t have enough on the ground.”

Liverpool demanded a probe into the “awful issues” that fans experienced prior to the match on Sunday.

Many reported they arrived at the stadium hours before kickoff but were prevented from entering.

Nigel Huddleston, the UK sports minister, said he was “extremely disturbed about the unpleasant scenes,” while Reds defender Andy Robertson called the match’s organisation a “shambles.”


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