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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Dan O'Donoghue

Boris Johnson 'hugely disappointed' by treatment of Liverpool fans in Paris

Boris Johnson says he was "hugely disappointed" by the scenes at the Champions League final on Saturday and is calling on UEFA to launch a full investigation.

Liverpool were defeated 1-0 by Real Madrid at the Stade de France, but the football became a mere sideshow amid organisational issues outside the ground and footage of supporters being pepper-sprayed by authorities.

Merseyside Police praised fans for their "exemplary' behaviour " under difficult circumstances, but France's sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera has blamed ticketless Liverpool supporters for the chaos.

READ MORE: UEFA lie twice in Champions League final disgrace and Liverpool will not accept it

Oudea-Castera insists a "mass gathering" of fans without tickets, or with fake tickets, caused the unsavoury scenes.

Downing Street dismissed the comments at a briefing this morning however.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: " The footage from the Stade de France this weekend was deeply upsetting and concerning.

"We know many Liverpool fans travelled to Paris in good time to support their team in one of the biggest matches of the season and we're hugely disappointed by how they were treated.

"Fans deserve to know what happened, so we're urging UEFA to work closely with the French authorities on a full investigation and to publish those findings.

Asked specifically about Oudea-Castera's comments, the spokesman added: "We believe the way fans were treated was disappointing.

"We need a full investigation to get to the bottom of what happened."

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