Liverpool MP demands 'retraction' of accusations made against fans in Paris

Football
5 Jun 2022 • 8:17 AM MYT
Tribal Football
Tribal Football

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An MP who saw "horrific" scenes at last weekend's Champions League final wants "a retraction of the smears" against Liverpool fans.

Europe's football governing body Uefa and French authorities initially blamed late arrivals and fake tickets for chaos at the game in Paris.

Uefa has apologised but Ian Byrne, who was at the match, wants a full retraction.

The Liverpool West Derby MP is planning a parliamentary motion about the issue.

Byrne, who was also at the 1989 Hillsborough disaster that led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans after a stadium crush, told BBC Radio 4 Today that there was "a shambolic breakdown of stadium management" and "extremely hostile" policing in Paris.

"It was the worst event I've ever seen around a football match since 1989 at Hillsborough and it could have been as serious as Hillsborough with the lives lost," he said.

"It was only the patience of the Liverpool supporters that prevented that from happening because we got absolutely nothing from the authorities."

Following a week of widespread criticism, Uefa apologised on Friday to Liverpool and Real Madrid fans after sections of supporters, including children and elderly people, were targeted with tear gas and pepper spray by French police outside the stadium.

It has also emerged that fans, including Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram, were robbed and assaulted by gangs of local marauding youth throughout the evening.


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