Former Liverpool star Jason McAteer was visibly emotional when sharing details of his wife and son's experience at the Champions League final.
Liverpool lost to Real Madrid at the Stade de France, but the experience was overshadowed by the events outside the stadium before and after the game. Fans were teargassed by police while waiting to enter the stadium, with kick-off delayed by 36 minutes, while there were also reports of supporters being attacked as they left the ground in Saint-Denis.
Reds left-back Andy Robertson has hit out at some of the organisation, while Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois shared his concerns for the English club's supporters. Liverpool themselves, meanwhile, have issued a statement demanding an investigation into events, and McAteer's experience is far from isolated.
"My wife was mugged which was sad," McAteer told LFC TV. "My eldest boy was attacked. You shouldn't go to a football match and have to deal with that. It's wrong. It's upsetting, it's scary."
The 50-year-old made the same comments on social media, calling out UEFA directly. " @UEFAcom very accountable as well as ground stewards and French police," he wrote. "Hope everyone is getting out of this s***show safely."
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Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique shared his support for McAteer after reading about the former Ireland international's experience. "So sorry to hear that amigo. Let's see if they take the blame @UEFA," the Spaniard wrote.
"Still blaming the fans @UEFA?" Jose Enrique wrote in a separate tweet. "I'm going to tweet every news that I receive about this until you say something @UEFA. The easy thing is to blame someone else e? Take the blame and responsibility for this @UEFA."
The 36-year-old also shared a video of fans being teargassed at the end of the game. Any excuse for that? The fans mistake again?" he asked
"[The Champions League final] is one of the best events on the planet and fans pay fortunes to be there and support their teams and they are treated like that. Disgraceful. #justice."
In the aftermath of events in and around the Stade de France, the UK government has also pushed for an investigation. Merseyside Police had praised the conduct of Liverpool fans, while many in the UK have asked questions of the authorities in Paris.
"The footage and accounts from Liverpool fans and the media on their entry to the Stade de France last night are deeply concerning," UK culture secretary Nadine Dorries said. "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 Française de Football, Merseyside Police and Liverpool Football Club. It is in the interests of everyone involved to understand what happened and to learn lessons from these events."
