LONDON —
Liverpool have received more than
5,000 complaints from supporters in 24 hours regarding the chaos surrounding
Saturday’s Champions League final, according to club chief executive Billy
Hogan.
اضافة اعلان
Reds supporters were tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed
by police as they gathered in large and slow-moving queues prior to the
showpiece match at the
Stade de France, which led to the kick-off being delayed
by over half an hour.
French interior
minister Gerald Darmanin claimed as many as 70 percent of tickets were found to
be fraudulent by staff at the first security checkpoints outside the ground.
But sources within European football governing body
UEFA and the French football federation told AFP on Tuesday that only 2,800
fake tickets were detected at the entrance gates of the stadium, suggesting the
problem was more about managing flows of supporters outside the ground.
UEFA initially blamed the late arrival of fans for
the problems, which included some supporters being crushed, before later
issuing a statement referring to fake tickets as the cause ahead of a match
Spanish giants Real won 1-0.
But the official version of events has been
repeatedly challenged on social media by fans and independent journalists
Hogan has now called on UEFA to include the evidence
of Liverpool supporters fans submitted to the Merseyside club’s website in
their independent review.
“The form has been on our website for just over 24
hours and we have had over 5,000 forms completed and submitted, which is really
astounding,” Hogan told Liverpool’s website.
“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to
submit their experiences.
“I’m horrified by the way some men, women, children
— some able-bodied, some less able-bodied - have been indiscriminately treated
over the course of Saturday.”
He added: “I think we’ve all seen videos, photos,
I’ve read a number of stories of absolutely horrific experiences leaving the
stadium as well — crimes being committed, muggings taking place.
“Nobody should experience what our fans experienced
either before or after the match.
“In our minds, obviously this is wholly
unacceptable.”
Hogan said Premier League powerhouse Liverpool were
trying to help fans who were most severely affected by the trouble before and
after the game.
“We’re aware there were many fans who were injured on
Saturday evening and we’ve asked UEFA for their matchday log, which includes
any medical incidents for the night, so we can reach out to those supporters
and families to help if we can,” he said.
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