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Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the independent report into the chaos which marred last season’s Champions League final in Paris, expressing his gladness that Liverpool (opens in new tab) fans have been officially absolved of any blame.
Kick-off in the match against Real Madrid (opens in new tab) last May was delayed by more than half an hour amid dangerous overcrowding outside the Stade de France – with the scary scenes sparking fears of a tragedy similar to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 97 Reds supporters.
At the time, both UEFA and the French government tried to pin the blame on fans without valid tickets – claims which the report, published on Tuesday, found to be baseless and labelled “reprehensible”.
UEFA has apologised to Liverpool supporters, some of whom were pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed by French police during the incident.
Klopp has welcomed the official verdict. He told the Liverpool club website (opens in new tab):
“I think it’s super-important that, finally, it’s official; let me say it like this. I’m not sure, at least in my life, there was [ever] a case with more evidence – where I knew more about [it] when I was not directly involved – because I was on the other side of the wall in the stadium, pretty much.
“But families, friends, they were all there and everybody knew how our supporters behaved – but it feels really good; it feels just right that it’s now official and everybody knows it now because there were so many things said after the game, which we knew they were wrong. It was just lies. So, I’m really happy that it’s finally said officially.”
Klopp’s comments come after Reds captain Jordan Henderson had his say (opens in new tab) on the report. The midfielder stressed the need for the findings to serve as “a turning point for the treatment of football fans”.
