Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan provided an update on how supporters who attended the Champions League final in Paris can inform the club of their experiences.
Reds supporters were caught up in ugly scenes outside the Stade de France ahead of the game against Real Madrid. The Reds went on to lose the clash 1-0.
The kick-off for the game was delayed three times with thousands of seats empty in the Liverpool end of the ground. A UEFA message inside the stadium initially said the kick-off had been delayed due to the 'late arrival of fans at the stadium'.
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However, that slant was slammed by Reds supporters, who were also targeted with tear-gas by French Police, with many blaming the organisation from UEFA, and the police, as the reason behind the problems.
Liverpool have already requested a 'formal investigation' over what supporters were subjected to before the match.
The ECHO understands that the club insists the UEFA message about late arrival of Liverpool fans is totally inaccurate. Security concerns were raised with UEFA on numerous occasions ahead of the match.
It is also understood that senior officials from Liverpool officially requested for the kick-off to be delayed after lobbying UEFA.
Hogan has confirmed the discussions that Liverpool have had with UEFA over an investigation. The CEO has also explained that there will soon be ways for fans to inform the club of their own experiences from Paris.
“We just got back from an incredibly difficult and disappointing night, but what happened outside the stadium completely overshadowed it,” said Hogan on the club’s Twitter account.
“The stadium entry and the breakdown of the security perimeter was absolutely unacceptable, and the treatment of our fans as well.
“So, as we discussed last night with UEFA, we are asking for a full and transparent investigation that can help to establish the facts.
“It’s absolutely imperative that we understand what happened last night and how we got into that situation, where people’s safety was put at risk.
“It’s important that we understand what happened last night, but it’s also important that we make sure that we take whatever the lessons are to make sure it never happens again.
“As an example, the Merseyside police were on the ground in an advisory capacity last night. You may have seen that they put a statement out where they talked about the behaviour of the fans being exemplary, doing what they were asked to do in terms of queuing and being orderly. And in addition, that the fans were there very early at the stadium as well.
“We’re intent on ensuring there’s an independent investigation, and we as a club will be absolutely a part of that and cooperative, and we’re looking forward to that’s done and done well.”
Hogan added: “I think the most important thing is that we hope people are safe.
“It was an incredibly difficult night for a lot of people and we understand that there were a lot of different experiences that took place over the course of the evening.
“It’s imperative that we hear from supporters. We want to make sure that we hear what their experiences were, we want to make sure that we get the facts, so we want to provide those facts to the relevant authorities, as it relates to the independent formal investigation.
“So over the course of the coming days we’ll be setting up a way and a mechanism for supporters to reach out to us directly and to be able to provide their experiences and accounts of what happened last night.”
