PARIS -- The UEFA Champions League final kick off was delayed by close to 40 minutes due to what can only be described as chaos outside the Stade de France.
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With minutes to go until kick off there were a huge number of empty seats in the Liverpool end.
UEFA then announced that “due to the late arrival of fans at the stadium, the match has been delayed” as it eventually kicked off at 3:36pm ET rather than 3pm. When the game kicked off there were still several empty seats in the stadium.
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Outside the ground fans told ProSoccerTalk about the dangerous conditions they were in, how it was ‘chaos’ and that tear gas was used on them by police.
There was a heavy police presence inside and outside the stadium as a police helicopter hovered overheard and videos have emerged showing several non-ticket holders jumping over the fence and getting into the Stade de France stadium compound.
What happened outside the Stade de France?
Entrances X, Y and U saw Liverpool fans waiting outside for hours as that end of the stadium was Liverpool’s designated area for supporters.
After they made it inside the stadium supporters described the chaos of waiting in line for several hours and a lack of organization in funnelling them towards the stadium entrances.
ProSoccerTalk also witnessed several individuals jumping over the fence and trying to get away from security guards to gain entrance to the stadium.
One individual was only stopped from entering the stadium bowl by a Liverpool fan who slammed him to the ground and pinned him down as security then led the individual away.
This is the current scene outside entrance Y. It’s the same outside entrance X and U at Stade de France.
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) May 28, 2022
Liverpool fans in huge queues still. Riot police patrolling the area and police helicopter overhead. Fans mention being tear gassed & “total chaos.”#LFC #RMFC #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/gCdNr3P5Tk
Liverpool, UEFA release statements
The Premier League club addressed the issues their fans faced and confirmed they have requested a ‘formal investigation’ to understand what happened.
“We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France. This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight. We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues.”
UEFA then released the following statement.
UEFA statement blame those with fake tickets for Paris chaos (doesn't say where they are from)
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) May 28, 2022
"Turnstiles at the Liverpool end became blocked by thousands fans who had purchased fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles. This created a build-up of fans trying to get in" pic.twitter.com/O3XIMHyjPF
Videos, photos from outside Stade de France
It’s important to tell what happened on the ground last night as I see that there are already several versions of ‘The Truth’ flying around. I was on the ground from 6.45pm (2.15 hrs before kick off) when problems began. So here’s a 🧵explaining my experiences….
— Rob Draper (@draper_rob) May 29, 2022
Fans furious outside the Stade de France over hours of queues and crushes with the area struggling to cope with #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/h0wibfvf4v
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) May 28, 2022
People are now jumping over gates to get in the stadium in Paris.
— Declan McCarthy (@dec11mcc) May 28, 2022
Fans coming in calling the whole entry process a disgrace. @talkSPORT pic.twitter.com/Y6OAi63zdb
Had to let some of these fans know the Champions League final is kicking off without them. A disgrace, frankly. pic.twitter.com/qJ3jVoLeVH
— Mark Critchley (@mjcritchley) May 28, 2022