A provisional report commissioned by the French Senate has found initial claims blaming Liverpool fans for dangerous and chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France before this year's Champions League final were unfair. Previously, UEFA, sports minister Amelie Oudea-Costera, minister of the interior Gerald Darmanin and Paris police prefect Didier Lallement were among the parties to lay accusations on Reds fans that have now been found to be overstated or entirely incorrect.
The match between Liverpool and Real Madrid was delayed by more than 30 minutes as police used tear gas and pepper spray on fans as the area outside the stadium became overcrowded.
UEFA is expected to publish its own independent review in September.
What did the report find?
"It is unfair to have wanted to make supporters of the Liverpool team bear the responsibility for the disturbances that occurred, as the minister of the interior did to divert attention from the inability of the state to adequately manage the crowds present and to curb the action of several hundred violent and co-ordinated offenders," the report stated.
It called UEFA's management of the ticketing system "unsuitable" - a knockback to the governing body's accusations that it was Liverpool's fan base that was entirely at fault for ticket issues - and also pointed to subpar training for stewards, which led to them becoming overwhelmed.
There were "major shortcomings with regard to the intelligence and transport routes for supporters" plus "insufficient communication", the report said.
How have Liverpool responded to theaccusations?
Fans and the club itself have been furious with French authorities, demanding they correct the record.
“There was not one Liverpool supporter in the wrong spot," head coach Jurgen Klopp told reporters. "There were a lot of spots occupied definitely by people without tickets, but they were not Liverpool supporters.
“This is pretty much the story everyone told, everyone had this experience. I think I knew 50 people inside the stadium, and 47 people told me exactly the same story. That is what I heard. That is obviously not how it should be.”
“Apologies are one thing, but an apology needs to come with action," Joe Blott, chair of Spirit of Shankly, the Liverpool supporters’ union, recently told GOAL. "That action is a full parliamentary inquiry, and a retraction of the lies which were stated so publicly, even before a ball had been kicked in Paris.”