Thibaut Courtois sent a message of support to Liverpool supporters after the chaotic scenes witnessed outside of the Stade de France on Saturday night.
Kick-off to the 2022 Champions League final was delayed by over half an hour with a vast number of Reds’ supporters struggling to gain access to the stadium despite arriving in plenty of time. One gate to the stadium was closed causing a huge back-log of queues and crowds to form outside of the stadium itself.
Riot police then got involved, with the huddled masses then reportedly being dispersed by the use of tear gas. Fans were still attempting to gain admission into the arena itself even after the game had kicked-off and now Courtois has seemingly become the first Real Madrid star to offer his thoughts on the shocking scenes.
Taking to Twitter, the Belgian stopper wrote: “I feel sorry for @LFC fans and the way they were treated. I hope everyone got home safe!”
It remains to be seen just why the situation outside of the Stade de France was allowed to escalate as it did. Liverpool have called for a formal investigation into the scenes, whilst UEFA claimed that the root cause of the problems were a number of fans attempting to enter the stadium with counterfeit tickets.
A statement read: “In the lead-up to the game, the turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles. This created a build-up of fans trying to get in. As a result, the kick off was delayed by 35 minutes to allow as many fans as possible with genuine tickets to gain access.
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“As numbers outside the stadium continued to build up after kick off, the police dispersed them with tear gas and forced them away from the stadium. UEFA is sympathetic to those affected by these events and will further review these matters urgently together with the French police and authorities, and with the French Football Federation.”
Whilst the off-the-pitch proceedings were shrouded in controversy, Courtois certainly played his part in the Spanish giants claiming their 14th European title as he produced a string of eye-catching saves to keep the Reds at bay, whilst Vinicius Junior’s second-half goal proved to be enough for Los Blancos to lift the trophy.
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique praised the Belgian keeper for offering his thoughts to supporters.
Replying to the Real Madrid star’s tweet, the former Spanish defender wrote: “Class by the MOTM yesterday. @UEFA I really hope you really accept the blame and do something about it. Disgusting scenes for people that they live for the club.”
