Photo credit: Tariq Panja (@tariqpanja Twitter)

Liverpool fans blast UEFA lies for delayed Champions League final kickoff

With the Champions League final delayed due to thousands of Liverpool fans being locked out of the ground, UEFA have claimed it was due to “late arrivals.”

Thousands of supporters remained stuck outside the Stade de France as 9pm ticked by in Paris, with kickoff in the Champions League final delayed by at least 30 minutes.

An announcement from UEFA claimed the decision to delay was “due to the late arrival of fans at the stadium.”

But from around 6.30pm local time, a full two-and-a-half hours before the scheduled kickoff, Liverpool fans took to social media to report on unrest outside the stadium.

A shambles of disorganisation has led to fans being funnelled through tight walkways, gates closed with no sign of entry and even teargas being deployed on growing crowds.

To claim that the delay came as a result of “late arrivals” is an utter lie, and Peter Moore, former chief executive of Liverpool, admonished UEFA for this:

“Disgraceful scenes outside the stadium. ‘Late arrival of fans’ should read ‘horrendous organisation’,” Moore wrote on Twitter.

“Fans have been here for hours. Stadium operations incapable of managing flow and access. Victim blaming at its very best…”

It is a farcical situation that is becoming increasingly common around major European games across the continent, with similar scenes unfolding with Rangers fans at the Europa League final in Seville.

On such a significant occasion for Liverpool and their supporters, it is a harrowing reminder of tragedies of the past, with further claims from fans of crushes, fights and incidents with riot police outside the Stade de France.

Shame on UEFA.