“I thought Hillsborough was about to happen” Liverpool fans give their experiences from Stade de France

Liverpool fans who attended the Champions League final have described how they feared the shambolic organisation outside the Stade de France could have led to a repeat of the terrible events of the Hillsborough disaster.

Saturday’s match against Real Madrid in Paris was marred by ugly scenes before and after the encounter with Reds supporters being tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed by French police.

One tearful fan told LiverpoolWorld he thought ‘Hillsborough was about to happen’ as crowd numbers swelled behind fences and French authorities mismanaged turnstyles and access to the stadium.

Sam Inkson said: “I basically made the decision to stay where I was because I thought Hillsborough was about to happen.

“I thought I was going to have to help carry bodies and move people who are injured. Because the way the stewards and police were acting towards the fans I thought: If I don’t help people, who will?”

Another supporter said the fans were “treated like cattle” and children were crying as tear gas was used.

Kick-off for the Champions League final was delayed by 36 minutes and French authorities have tried to blame the late arrival of Liverpool fans for much of the trouble.

However, Merseyside Police, who were embedded with the travelling supporters, national journalists, who were present, and Merseyside politicians, who were also there, have refuted those claims, with some fans queuing for more than four hours.

UEFA have responded to demands from Liverpool FC and the UK Government for an official investigation and have commissioned an independent report into the scenes outside the ground.