Saturday night’s Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid was marred by police violence against the English club’s fans, with one clip showing a young fan suffering the effects of tear gas thrown by French officers. The heart-wrenching video shows a 9-year-old fan wearing a Liverpool scarf and crying as he tries to wipe his eyes. Carl Clemente, a Liverpool fan and historian, tweeted the video of his son, saying he had been hurt from the tear gas chucked by French police officers after the match.
He accused the law enforcement in Paris of “throwing tear gas for fun”.
Mr Clemente tweeted: “That’s it for me! Game over, not arsed about me!
“But my 9-year-old suffered the effects of tear gas after the match, a football match!
“The police were throwing them for fun! I got hit directly! So toxic, defo not a place for kids! Football is finished.”
French police threw tear gas into crowds of Liverpool fans both before and after the match, which Liverpool lost 1-0.
JUST IN: French ministers THANK police after using tear gas on Liverpool fans
Several senior Liverpool figures were also witness to the chaos wrought by the French police.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer tweeted: “Last night was disgusting.
“My son attacked, my wife mugged. Uefa are very accountable as well as ground stewards and French police.”
The match was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to the chaos before kick-off.
Liverpool fans have blasted French authorities and UEFA for trying to blame the football supporters for the chaos.
They added: “The failure rests with UEFA, the French authorities and police.”
Merseyside Police’s matchday officers tweeted that it was “the worst European match I’ve ever worked or experienced”.
Liverpool’s defender Andy Robertson, who played in the game, said the organisation of the match was a “shambles”.
Liverpool fury was provoked even further today when French political ministers went out of their way to praise the police’s handling of the event.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera accused “thousands” of English fans of attempted “fraud”.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin also wrote: “Thousands of British ‘supporters’, without tickets or with counterfeit tickets, forced entry and sometimes assaulted the stewards.
“Thank you to the very many police forces mobilised this evening in this difficult context.”
The mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, said that the attempt to pin the blame on his city’s football fans was “shameful,” adding that she was “disgusted” by the violence against fans.
