Uefa has launched a comprehensive review into the chaotic scenes that marred Saturday’s Champions League final in Paris.
The inquiry will look into the tear-gassing of Liverpool supporters who were waiting in huge queues before the clash against Real Madrid at the Stade de France and access problems leading to a kick-off delay of 36 minutes.
European football’s governing body initially blamed the late arrival of fans for the delay before later issuing a statement blaming the issues on fake tickets.
The organisation has now responded to calls for a full inquiry by confirming a review of the events will be conducted by Dr Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, a member of the Portuguese Parliament and former member of the World Anti-Doping Agency Foundation Board.
“Uefa has today announced it has commissioned an independent report into the events surrounding the Uefa Champions League final in Paris on Saturday, May 28,” it said.
“The comprehensive review will examine decision-making, responsibility and behaviours of all entities involved in the final.
“Evidence will be gathered from all relevant parties and the findings of the independent report will be made public once completed and, upon receipt of the findings, Uefa will evaluate the next steps."
The review comes after French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin repeated claims about fake tickets.
French authorities are under increasing pressure over their handling of fans and security, but Mr Darmanin said an influx of supporters with unauthorised tickets, or without tickets at all, was the biggest problem.
“There was massive fraud at an industrial level and organisation of fake tickets," he said. "Seventy per cent of tickets were fake tickets coming into the Stade de France.
“More than 2,600 were confirmed by Uefa as non-validated tickets even though they had gone through the first filtering.
“The massive presence of the fake tickets was the issues which meant there were delays. Three times the match was delayed.
“I would like to express our regret with regard to the organisation of the final because some people were not able to see the whole of the match. I deplore the errors which took place before.”
Representatives from local authorities, police and organisers met to review events on Monday.
Amelie Oudea-Castera, France’s Sports Minister, said there were thousands of fake tickets.
“The major point is to try to understand precisely what happened during this massive fraud," Ms Oudea-Castera said.
"There are witnesses and the figures corroborate this — 30,000-40,000 people without tickets or with fake tickets, and we saw some fake tickets.
“We can see they are professional and that meant some controls didn’t notice it.”
This version of events has been contested by Liverpool supporters and independent media outlets.
Football fans arrive in Paris before the Uefa Champions League final
Ian Byrne, the Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, attended the match as a fan and said he had never witnessed such scenes since the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
Mr Byrne has written to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss with a list of seven demands, including a formal investigation and apologies, aimed at Uefa and the French authorities.
“The French authorities and Uefa are quite simply covering their own backs with this narrative, he wrote.
“As a Liverpool fan, I was in Paris for the match and I can honestly say that the situation outside the ground was one of the most horrendous experiences of my life — and as a Hillsborough survivor, I do not make this comment lightly.”
Merseyside Police observers described the behaviour of most supporters as “exemplary”, although those from the Paris prefecture said some had used “strong force” to try to get into the stadium.
Liverpool FC have appealed to supporters who attended the game to report their experiences on a feedback form on their website.
