UEFA slap aside any Liverpool complaints about fan chaos at Champions League final affecting players

UEFA has shockingly dismissed Liverpool‘s claims that chaos before the Champions League final affected their players. 

Chaos descended before the European showpiece in May between the Premier League side and Real Madrid, which Carlo Ancelotti‘s men 1-0 thanks to a goal from Vinicius Junior. 

The match was delayed due to ticketing issues and many English fans not being inside the Paris stadium. 

There were widespread reports of French police treating supporters with hugely heavy-handed treatment, including tear gas.

Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders had insisted some players were in tears before the match started due to the treatment of their fans. 

But a UEFA technical report labelled notions it had affected stars ‘a moot point’. 

In his new book ‘Intensity’, a chronicle of the 2021-22 season published in early August, Lijnders said: ‘It was deadly quiet. Some (players) were in tears, some were just with complete frustration and most of us with disillusion.

‘UEFA, by the way, didn’t warn us about the delays. It was only after we’d finished our warm-up we found out. Can you imagine that, before a Champions League final?

‘But more important than this was the terrible treatment of our supporters outside, trying to get in to watch the game. A complete failure by the authorities, UEFA and the police.

‘Treating football fans like it was a riot. We couldn’t believe what we saw and heard when we later received the images, videos and stories from those caught up in it. 

‘That included family members of my own who told me they cried – firstly in fear when outside and later in sheer relief once they made it in.

‘They told me the only ones who were calm were the Liverpool supporters. Sorry to say, UEFA has to do better.’