Tear gas rules must change at matches - says report

Liverpool fans outside the Stade de France before the 2022 Champions League final

Rules need to be changed over the use of tear gas at sporting events following chaotic scenes at a Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, an independent report has said.

Liverpool fans were penned in and sprayed with tear gas outside the Stade de France in Paris in May 2022.

Ticketless fans were initially blamed by Uefa and French authorities but now an independent body has found the use of tear gas was "not absolutely necessary" and the "panic created put people at risk".

Ted Morris, chair of the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association, said the report ruling should ensure it "never happens again".

French riot police in front of Liverpool supporters at the end of the UEFA Champions League final

The report by the French Defender of Rights, responsible for defending the rights and freedoms of French citizens, comes after the claims of 887 Liverpool fans who said they were caught up in the scenes two years ago.

Serious congestion problems outside the stadium saw thousands of Liverpool fans penned in against perimeter fences and stuck in a motorway underpass ahead of the game against Real Madrid, with kick-off on the night delayed by 36 minutes.

Those same supporters, who had already been targeted by local youths trying to steal tickets, were then tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed by police.

Mr Morris told BBC Radio Merseyside he was proud to help with the report.

He said: "I find it astonishing that an independent part of the French government would condemn the French police in this way.

"But this should never, ever happen again.

"This report talks about nine-year-old children opened up to the use of tear gas attending a football game and even now when I think back about what some of these disabled children went through outside that stadium, and afterwards, I just find it difficult to comprehend."

'Failed in their duty'

The report published a list of recommendations for the Minister of the Interior, responsible for the general interior security of the country.

They included:

• Make changes to the rules governing the use of tear gas at major

• Adopt the tools needed to count in an accurate and detailed manner all the medium force weapons used by law enforcement officers

• Issue instructions and orders systematically in foreign languages at major sporting and culture events, depending on the nationality of those attending.

They go on to say police "failed in their duty to protect people and property" during the event, and the Minister of the Interior, along with Prefect of Paris' Police and those responsible for security arrangements, did not take "all the necessary steps to supervise or oversee supervision of the actions of their officers".

The BBC has approached the French authorities for comment.

A jurisdictional hearing at the High Court in Liverpool will be held on 27 and 28 June, which will involve lawyers for both the fans and football authorities, to discuss whether the fans claim hearing should be dealt with in UK or French courts.