Liverpool great Sir Kenny Dalglish has slammed UEFA over their handling of the Champions League final and has labelled the whole thing as 'an absolute shambles'.
Thousands of supporters were left stuck outside Stade de France last Saturday as the Reds prepared to face Real Madrid. Jurgen Klopp’s side were beaten 1-0 on the night, but it's the fallout from the shocking treatment of fans outside the stadium that has dominated the agenda.
Kick-off was delayed for 36 minutes as a result of the problems. Liverpool supporters were targeted with tear gas by the French police, mugged by locals and denied entry despite having valid match tickets.
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On Monday, authorities in France blamed 'large scale industrial fraud' and fake tickets for the issues on the night. Interior minister Gerald Darmanin also placed the blame on Liverpool supporters.
However, reports on the evening paint a different picture, with the Liverpool ECHO since revealing that fans arrived in plenty of time prior to kick-off, only for French police to block access routes, leaving supporters crowded together with very little room to move.
Liverpool have released numerous statements since the final taking aim at UEFA for the way Reds fans were treated. Real Madrid have also released a statement, claiming that they were 'hugely disappointed' by the difficulties that their own fans experienced with getting into the stadium.
UEFA confirmed earlier in the week that they have now commissioned an independent report into the mayhem that left many fearing for their safety. While the governing finally issued an apology on Friday for the 'frightening and distressing events' that occurred throughout the evening.
And writing in his Sunday Post column, Dalglish has revealed that he is looking forward to reading the findings of the investigation, and wants to see UEFA distribute more tickets to the participating clubs in the future with thousands of regular fans missing out watching their side in action.
He wrote: “The scenes at last Saturday’s Champions League Final were totally unacceptable. What the Liverpool supporters had to go through was appalling.
“I was at the Stade de France, and the whole thing was an absolute shambles. I thought the fans showed great restraint and patience as they tried to get into the stadium to see the game, only to be faced by tear gas, pepper spray and what appeared local youths intent on causing mayhem.
“UEFA initially went into defensive mode, but have since offered an apology. They stated ‘No football fan should be put in that situation, and it must not happen again’. Absolutely correct.
“The fans caught up in the chaos deserved an apology and an explanation from UEFA. They could not be seen to undermine the supporters, and attempt to sweep what went on under the carpet.
“On the back of Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt complaining about incidents around their Europa League Final in Seville, UEFA have got it badly wrong in their two showpiece games.
“I look forward to a detailed account of their findings. Internally, they need to take a good look at themselves. Moving forward, a good starting point should be to give clubs competing in the finals more of a ticket allocation.
"Getting 20 per cent of the tickets available is just not on. It deprives loyal fans of seeing their team and, instead, too many tickets are given to random people.”
