Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ‘really happy’ fans exonerated for Champions League chaos

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says it is “super important” that the club’s fans have been exonerated for the chaotic scenes before last year’s Champions League final against Real Madrid.

“It feels just right that it’s now official,” said Klopp.

“Everybody knows it now because there were so many things said after the game, which we knew were wrong.

“It was just lies. So, I’m really happy that it’s finally said officially.”

Uefa and French authorities initially blamed ticketless fans for the situation but the report stated that there was “no evidence” to support the “reprehensible” claims.

For many Liverpool fans, the incident and subsequent attempted attribution of blame on supporters evoked painful memories of the Hillsborough disaster.

Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died as a result of the April 1989 disaster at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium, where fans were crushed because of overcrowding in the Leppings Lane end at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

The report into events in Paris last year said the collective action of Liverpool supporters was “probably instrumental” in preventing “more serious injuries and deaths” outside the stadium.

Liverpool want Uefa to “fully and transparently” fulfil 21 recommendations made in the report to prevent similar incidents, while Klopp praised Liverpool fans for how they dealt with events in the French capital.

“Thank you. Staying calm in a situation where nobody really can stay calm, tear gas in your eyes, pressure from up front, from the side, from behind, being locked in between thousands of people and not pushing like crazy, staying calm, is a massive thing to do and an extremely difficult thing to do,” said the Reds boss.

“And then getting out of it and getting blamed for that, it’s horrible. It’s really horrible.

“When you hear it first time, you cannot believe it, that it all happened, but it did.

“So, yes, there’s a lot to improve and I hope everybody learned from it.”

Uefa stripped Russia from staging the Champions League final in St Petersburg because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine and moved Europe’s showpiece game to the Stade de France in February 2022.

Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Real Madrid but, speaking to LBC, Paris deputy mayor Pierre Rabadan said the organisation of the final was “done too quickly”.

Klopp said he understood “they had to change the venue a few months before that actual event happened” but added “there was a good chance to find a better venue”. – bbc.com