Photos: Chaos as Liverpool fans enter Champions League final

Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters forced to endure long waits to get into the Champions League final against Real Madrid as chaos erupted outside the Stade de France in Paris.

UEFA and French authorities blamed overcrowding at turnstiles on people trying to access the stadium with fake tickets on Saturday.

The match was delayed for 37 minutes and kicked off as security officers still struggled with the flow of angry supporters into the Stade de France. Liverpool eventually lost 1-0 to Real Madrid.

UEFA said there were thousands of ticketless fans trying to gain access to the 80,000-plus capacity French national stadium, but it did not identify where they were from.

Angry Liverpool fans held in the lines were seen hanging onto railings and heard shouting: “Let us in. We’ve got tickets.”

Liverpool said it was “hugely disappointed” with the security issues experienced by its fans.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said stadium stewards were assaulted by fans who forced their way in without tickets or with counterfeit tickets.

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra tweeted: “Violence has no place in the stadiums.”

There was anger on the Liverpool squad after losing the final.

“Pretty much all of our families were affected,” Liverpool defender Andy Robertson said. “Obviously my tickets were through the club and somehow somebody told one of my mates that he’s got a fake ticket, which I can assure you definitely wasn’t because it was obviously through me.

“So then obviously the French police decided to throw tear gas on fans and families. It’s not been well-organised.”

Liverpool supporter Colm Lacey said he saw “children crying, people trapped” outside the entrances.

“People started jumping the queue, then they ripped the gate open and then there was a push,” Lacey said.