Pressure is mounting on French authorities and UEFA over what have been described as 'shambolic and disgusting' scenes at Saturday's Champions League final in Paris.
Harrowing accounts from Liverpool fans describe the dangerous and chaotic situation before kick off as thousands of Reds supporters were kept out of the ground for hours, before police targeted them with tear gas and pepper spray. Many supporters and journalists present have slammed police and security for their inexplicably 'brutal' treatment of Liverpool supporters.
While both UEFA and senior French politicians were quick to try and blame Liverpool fans for supposedly being late or arriving with fake tickets, countless videos, images and accounts strongly suggest the problems were created by a total lack of organisation and a hostile response from French police.
READ MORE: Liverpool MP calls for official investigation into handling of Champions League final
Speaking on BBC television this morning, Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson, who was in Paris on Saturday, said she saw huge numbers of Liverpool fans bottlenecked together and not being allowed in to the stadium and then being pepper sprayed by riot police.
She said: "It was absolutely shambolic, but also the police behaviour was really brutal, absolutely disgusting. I'm getting more angry the more stories I hear. People have had treacherous journeys to see that game, its amazing to be in Europe following your team, the very least you should expect from the authorities is for it to be organised and safe."
Mayor Anderson is writing to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss demanding answers, an investigation and an apology from French authorities and UEFA as to their decisions on the day. Someone else who has written to Ms Truss is Liverpool West Derby MP and fan Ian Byrne, who was also in attendance at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Byrne, who was at Hillsborough said: "It was awful, policing, stewarding, an extremely hostile atmosphere from the start, to treat football fans like animals is unforgiveable." In his letter to Ms Truss, he added: "The kick-off at the Stade de France was delayed by 36 minutes and UEFA initially cited the 'late arrival' of fans as the reason for this. Perhaps they soon realised that video footage in the public domain roved this was simply not the case as they soon changed their narrative to 'fans arriving with fake tickets.'
He added: "Foreign Secretary, I can assure you this is nonsense. The French authorities and UEFA are quite simply covering their own backs with this narrative. As a Liverpool fan I was in Paris for the match and I can honestly say that the situation outside the ground was one of the most horrendous experiences of my life - and as a Hillsborough survivor I do not make this comment lightly."
The UK Government has now joined the calls for an investigation into the handling of the match and actions of police, UEFA and French authorities. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: "The footage and accounts from Liverpool fans and the media on their entry to the Stade de France last night are deeply concerning. Thousands of ticket holders travelled to Paris in good time to support their team in the biggest match of their season. It is in the interests of everyone involved to understand what happened and to learn lessons from these events."
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston added: “It is yet to be explained why access to the Stade de France was so limited which led to some LFC fans, including the young and elderly, being attacked with tear gas and unable to reach their seats. A full and urgent investigation must be launched by Uefa and French authorities.”
Another government minister, Chris Philp, today said he was 'horrified' to see pictures of fans, some holding children, others who were disabled, being pepper sprayed by police. He added: "From the pictures I saw, there was no obvious justification for that kind of behaviour.”
French authorities are due to meet with UEFA officials today.
