Paris WASN’T READY to host the Champions League final last season, a senior sports official admits

Paris should not have hosted the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool last season because officials did not have enough time to prepare, a senior sports chief admitted on Monday.

The Stade de France in Paris was unable to deal with the huge crowds that formed outside the stadium ahead of kick-off on May 28, leading to unprecedented chaos and police intervention in the French capital.

As fans clambered over the barriers in an attempt to enter the venue, congestion reached dangerously high levels and many supporters – including children – were pressed up against the railings. 

Authorities indiscriminately resorted to the use of pepper spray and tear gas, and a long-awaited report into the chaos has at last been issued, clearing Liverpool fans of wrongdoing by laying the blame on UEFA and the French police.

With only two months to spare, UEFA switched the venue for the Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Paris were not prepared to host the Champions League final, a senior official has admitted

Liverpool fans were held in ‘long and slow moving’ hour-long queues outside the stadium

Pierre Rabadan, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of sports events for the final, has since criticised the decision and told LBC on Monday: ‘As you know, the final was supposed to be organised in St Petersburg, and finally we organised it in Paris, and we did the organisation in a couple of weeks.

‘The organisation was going probably too quickly, we can say today. Normally the organisation takes around ten months to organise a Champions League final.

‘Here everything was organised in the last two months before the events. We can say that they had mistakes.’

Both UEFA and French authorities initially claimed that Liverpool fans were responsible for the chaos, which understandably proved a sore point for Reds supporters, who were falsely accused of causing the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. 

Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, alleged that ‘30,000 to 40,000 Liverpool fans’ had either forged tickets or arrived without one, claiming an ‘industrial scale’ ticket fraud had occurred.

UEFA later issued a statement, which read: ‘The turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands of fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles.’

However, an independent report on Monday has since revealed that there was ‘no evidence’ to support the ‘reprehensible’ accusations. 

Over 600 Liverpool fans are now being represented by law firm Leigh Davy in an effort to claim compensation.

Liverpool were furious by the way a cover up was planned and fought to clear their supporters

Reacting to the findings of the independent reports, UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis apologised to Reds fans.

He said: ‘In particular, I would like to apologise to the supporters of Liverpool FC for the experiences many of them had when attending the game and for the messages released prior to and during the game, which had the effect of unjustly blaming them for the situation leading to the delayed kick-off.

‘UEFA is committed to learning from the events of 28 May, and will cooperate closely with supporters’ groups, the finalist clubs, the host associations and local authorities in order to deliver outstanding finals where everyone can enjoy the game in a safe, secure and welcoming environment.’

Liverpool fans try to cover their faces with their shirts and masks outside the Stade de France