Fake tickets triggered Paris final chaos

France's sports minister has said fans without tickets caused initial crowd problems at the Champions League final in Paris, despite strong criticism of the event's police on Saturday.

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra blamed a "mass gathering" of supporters with "fake tickets" for the chaos at the stadium.

She also said local youths are trying to force their way into making things worse.

But UK's Culture Secretary described the police response as "deeply concerning" and has urged an inquiry.

French police have been criticised for firing pepper spray and tear gas at some Liverpool fans as they waited to get into the stadium on Saturday evening.

Police have also been accused of disorganisation in handling the large crowds of people trying to access the Stade de France.

The final was delayed by 35 minutes by the trouble outside the stadium, with Liverpool losing the match against Spain's Real Madrid 1-0.

Ms Oudéa-Castéra's comments came ahead of a meeting on Monday with the French sports ministry, Europe's football governing body UEFA, the French Football Association, stadium officials and police to "draw lessons" from the event.

"What happened, first of all, was this mass gathering of the British supporters of the Liverpool club, without tickets, or with fake tickets," Ms Oudéa-Castéra told French radio RTL.

But she said more people from the local area tried to force their way in through the doors of the Stade de France, where the match was held.

"A certain number of youths from the nearby area who were present tried to get in by mixing in with the crowd," the minister said.

She also expressed regret that families and children were affected using tear gas.

The French minister said there were "no problems" about Real supporters, and the Spanish side had controlled their travelling fans better than Liverpool.

UEFA initially blamed the "late arrival" of fans for the problems.

But Merseyside police, who managed to police in Liverpool and were present in Paris, said most Liverpool fans arrived early at the turnstiles and behaved in an "exemplary manner".

Saturday's TV footage showed young men who did not appear to be wearing red Liverpool shirts jumping the stadium gates and then running away from security.

Liverpool fans spoke of long queues building up hours before the match started.

Tom Whitehurst said he had to get his disabled son "out of the way" after they were pepper-sprayed.

"The treatment of supporters by UEFA and the police was an absolute disgrace," he said. "Fans were indiscriminately pepper-sprayed, and there were people with tickets, who arrived two-and-a-half hours early, queuing up and were charged at by riot police with shields."

The BBC's sports journalist Nick Parrott, who was in Paris, said, "it was the most petrifying experience I've ever had at a football match". He tweeted those locals were "trying to force their way in, leading to security closing the gates and keeping out legitimate fans with tickets".

Meanwhile, Liverpool player Andy Robertson said the organisation of the final was a "shambles", adding that he had given a genuine ticket to a friend who was told it was fake and denied entry to the game.

Liverpool legend Alan Kennedy, who scored the winner when his team beat Real Madrid to win the 1981 European Cup final in Paris, also had a distressing experience outside the Stade de France. The 67-year-old was helped over a security fence by supporters to escape the crowd.

Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson, who attended the final, described the French police actions as "absolutely disgusting".

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Ms Anderson said: "When the game was delayed, and I could see lots of Liverpool seats were empty - so knowing that people with tickets hadn't been able to get in, I went to walk around the ground to see what was going on.

"Seeing all the Liverpool fans bottlenecked together, shouting at officials, or shouting at stewards, the riot police just came over and pepper-sprayed them.

The chaotic scenes have become a political embarrassment in France due to hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games.